So Contagiously
by Katia11
Summary: Cindy Vortex is graduated and living in New York City. She's got a great boyfriend and is enjoying her Jimmy free life, until now. JC goodness!
1. Alex Caldwin

So I had another idea. Kill me. LOL! This is a taste, and you all should tell me if I should continue. Thanks!

Alex Caldwin

She danced around in her sleep shorts and shirt to one of her favorite songs. Her so-called apartment was small and sort of grungy but it did the trick. It was so weird thinking that she had graduated over five years ago, and she was 23.

She smiled. It was so strange to think that she and her boyfriend would be celebrating their two year anniversary. She had met Alex Caldwin in the New Age class she was taking in College while she was training to major in Theater. Then when she got a local job at a nearby Café, he came and visited her there often, bringing her roses and chocolates. It was how they had gotten together in essence.

She still worked at the same Café, but she promised herself it was only until she could get a real job acting. Maybe even on Broadway. New York was such a big city though. She sighed, every girl was allowed a few dreams right? Just then her phone rang loudly. She picked up as she tried to dry her hair out from her shower.

" Hey girl!" Libby Estevez cried. She and Libby were still best friends of course, even though Libby and Sheen had gotten married almost right out of High School. They were the happiest people Cindy knew. Even with three kids, soon to be four. Lizzy was the oldest she was five years, yes Libby had gotten pregnant before she was married, it was quite the scandal. Colin followed at four, Cindy was next being two.

" Hey." She said as she put some hot water on the oven.

" I just wanted to say good luck tonight, it's been two years honey, I think tonight is the big night!"

" Oh Libby, do you really think so?"

" I more then think, I practically know, so how long before he gets there?"

" About fifteen minutes."

Silence.

" Oh shut up." She scorned her. She was sure that on the other end, she was rolling her eyes. Libby laughed on the other end.

" Lizzy, Colin, say hi to aunty Cindy!"

Of course she wasn't the 'real' aunt, but they called her aunty anyway.

She heard a few gurgling noises, and two hellos.

" Hi guys!" She chirped.

" Goo' luck." She recognized Colin's voice.

" Thanks honey!"

Libby took the phone back with a struggle and Cindy heard her whisper to her children.

" Go to bed now!" Silence for a minute, then Libby picked the phone back up. " Sorry about that, sometimes children can be a pain." She said teasingly. " So, what are you wearing?"

" I'm not exactly sure."

" Oh my! This is worse then I thought. I'm going to let you go."

" Oh no! It's okay."

" No, you go get ready for your life changing date this minute!" She sighed as she obeyed her command.

" Okay, I'll call you as soon as I get home."

" If you get home," she laughed heartily.

" Whatever! Bye!" She said and hung up with a smile on her face.

She hurried to her dressing room, and got dressed and ready faster then she ever had in her life. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, just a simple black dress, sleek, chic, sexy, modest. She loved this dress, it was her ultimate favorite, it was the token of good luck, she was wearing it when Alex gave her their first kiss. Of course it would never beat...

She instantly got that thought out of her mind and scorned herself. She fixed her hair one last time. Then the doorbell rang loudly. She peeked through her peep whole in her door, and there he was, his bright blue eyes brought out by the dark tux, his black hair perfectly fixed and inside she squealed happily. He never dressed up this much unless they were going out somewhere really special. She opened the door, and he stood, staring at her, speechless.

" Mhm, you look amazing my dear." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

" Thanks, you look pretty darn good yourself." She said, blushing.

And together they walked out of her apartment.

" So when are you going to get a new apartment?"

" When I can afford it," she said as she climbed into the fanciest hover-car she had ever seen, it was the main way to travel now since they were much more energy efficient then cars, but they were much more technologically developed then when he drove one. Cindy stopped herself again. Alex was a developer of Limited Inc. which was the very capital of New York these days since it was the head of everything that was related to transportation all over the world. He was a very rich young man, of course not nearly as rich as .. Again she stopped herself from letting her thoughts venture to _him_. Why did she keep thinking about _him_ tonight?

" Well you know, I'm not exactly poor Cind," he said shooting her a smile.

" And you know I would never accept money from you."

" I know because you had to be born stubborn."

She smiled at him. And then they turned a corner into an empty parking lot.

" This is the best place I could think of for this." He said as he pulled out a single stemmed rose. She smiled as he reached into his pocket and produced. A key? All this for a stinkin' key?

" I want you to move in with me, and this is the key to my apartment."

Cindy was speechless.

" Yes?"

Cindy just nodded. Who could say no? Alex had one of the best pads in town! She was speechless.

" Oh Alex, this is so great, when can I move in?" She teased and he hugged her tightly. He smelled her hair for a moment, and then whispered.

" Anytime you feel like it." She smiled again and batted her eyes for a moment. " Do you know where we are?" It was really to dark to see anything except for the empty parking lot so Cindy shook her head no. He opened the doors automatically, like on a space ship, and she stepped out. He took her hand and lead her through the dark to a tall sign lit by shining lights.

" Oh my gosh!" She cried. It was the college they had attended, and this was the very spot in which he first asked her out. " Oh Alex, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." And almost as if on cue her brain chirped in, except for .. Again she stopped her brain, what was wrong with her tonight? Okay, maybe more then tonight ever since graduation of High School she had thought about _him_. She shook her head.

" What's wrong baby?" He asked with a smile she just shook her head again.

" Oh nothing at all, it's just so perfect." He took her hand and kissed it and then kissed her lips passionately. When they pulled away, he took her hand and they walked in the darkness around the campus.

All of a sudden, he tickled her sides.

" Hey!" She squealed, trying to bat away his hands. " What are you doing?" She said through gasps of laughter.

" I'm tickling my girlfriend." He teased, and she smiled. He wrapped his arms around her and stepped in the back of her. They stood there, facing the Trent Hall, which was where they had first met. Again, he smelled her hair.

" Will you stop doing that? It tickles," she asked with a smile.

" It's just your hair smells so good, it makes me dizzy, it's so sexy when you smell like this, it's like a chemical, honestly." He teased, and she winked at him.

" Hmph. You don't know what your talking about Mr. Caldwin."

" You're right Miss Vortex."

Silence fell over them, and in the silence Cindy's eyes accidentally traveled from the building, into the sky, to the stars. It was so hard to believe that's what won him the Nobel Prize. The stars. He had become a major scientist of course, and had developed a Space Station which could hold thousands of people, a city in space. Instantly, it made her flash back to lying on a plaid blanket in the middle of an empty field in Retroville Texas. The way he tasted when he kissed her, the way he felt pressed up against hers, the way she loved him. The first time he had said he loved her. Their first kiss in that dark alley way in Retroville. She was so happy, and then all of a sudden, she found herself missing Jimmy Neutron. It was a pretty regular occurrence when she was depressed or nervous about something. He had to be happy now, he chose the road which would bring him wealth and not her. But she had to admit it wasn't exactly the stupidest choice ever, he was like a billionaire, no not billionaire, more like zillionaire. He was the richest man in the world, and had been voted the most eligible bachelor about a hundred times.

" Aren't the stars beautiful?" Alex whispered.

" Yes they are, but do you mind if we leave?" She knew she needed to stop thinking about _him_.

" No! So, can I expect you tonight?" He whispered sweetly in her ear. She giggled.

" Only if you come get me."

" I'll be there in two hours."

" Good."

And he took her home. It was kind of nice to get away from the reminder of Jimmy, but then hanging on her door was a magazine she had ordered through some little kid in the building called Sci-Today. And there he was on the cover, in all his glory. He still wore that stupid blue lab coat with the atom on the back and he'd even gone back to the silly whippy hair do look. She laughed when she saw that. He was holding up a beaker.

COVER STORY: JAMES NEUTRON DISCOVERS NEW CHEMICAL.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, of course. She threw the magazine in the trash and sat down her couch. She decided to turn on the t.v. but every channel was a news channel, which ironically had Jimmy. And a little flashing thing across the bottom which read, Breaking News.

" So Mr. Neutron, how is your love life these days?"

Jimmy laughed, and she closed her eyes. She loved his laugh... OH no you don't! She screamed at herself.

" Oh, well I'm still single, but I think I'm ready to look for love again." He said with a smile.

" Got anyone in mind?"

And absent mindedly she watched, entranced, almost hoping that he might say her name.

" No Sir, I don't, I guess we'll just have to see what happens."

She laughed at herself.

"We'll be right back with the most powerful man in the world, trust me you don't want to miss this." She turned off the t.v. it was probably some stupid change to the space station or something. She walked over to her phone, she intended to keep her promise to Libby.

" Hey Libby." She said. Libby yawned and Cindy checked the time. It was only eleven.

" Hey there, sorry I fell asleep reading one of my kids to bed. So how was your date?"

" Wonderful, oh Libby, he gave me the key to his apartment, he wants me to move in with him!"

" Oh my gosh!" Libby squealed. " I told you it was gonna be something big! This is wonderful Cind!" She exclaimed.

" I know, it's like a dream come true."

And just then, the t.v. on the other end turned on and she heard Jimmy speaking.

" Oh! Did you know Jimmy is on like every channel?"

" Yeah. I saw that." She said as she examined a finger nail that was losing it's color.

" Well he certainly looks good."

" Yeah, he does," Cindy responded.

" Hm, he's still single, that's kind of weird."

" Yeah I know, well maybe we've been wrong about him all along, maybe he goes the other way if you know what I mean."

" Cindy! That's so mean!"

" Well!" She laughed and so did Libby. " Oh shit!" Libby cursed. " I'm really sorry, but I have to go, Sheen just dropped something break able in the kitchen.

" Oh, okay."

" I'm so sorry. Call me tomorrow morning and we'll talk more okay?"

" Okay, night Libs,"

" Night!"

Cindy looked at the clock. Eleven Ten.

She decided she might as well give herself a bath to make her skin soft. And so she started the water, lit her vanilla candles, and started her relaxation music. She put the little black dress on the hanger on the grungy door. She had to get a new tub, she had spent her first paycheck on that and food of course. But luckily, with Alex she didn't really need to worry about food. She climbed into the tub and immediately it began to work it's magic. She closed her eyes, and then without her consent, her brain took her back in time.

Mars, the Island... the pearl. The first time they held hands it was pure magic. The first time they kissed, his inventions which always went haywire. The way he looked at her, even Alex couldn't look at her like Jimmy used to. Their first kiss in that blessed alleyway. The best eight years of her life, was spent in love with Jimmy Neutron. After High School, is where the history began to suck. It was August first, about a week before she left for college when Jimmy Neutron broke her heart.

Staring up at the sky on the plaid blanket, wrapped in his arms. He kissed her forehead. She knew he was going to some prestigious College really far from where she was, but she had been ready to give the long distance relationship a shot. At the time she would've died for Jimmy if he had asked her.

" I love you Cindy," he had said. " I really do."

"And I love you," she had responded.

He had kissed her passionately on the lips. When they pulled away, he smiled at her so softly, so beautifully, but a second later, he got an unhappy look on his face.

" But, you know, we are going to be going to two different places, and I'm not sure, we can.." He let his sentence trail off. Cindy looked up at him in shock.

" Are you saying that we should break up?"

" I'm afraid so Cindy, I mean I don't want to, I really don't, but we will be so far apart.."

" There's email, the phone, Jimmy we have to at least try! We can't just give this up because we are separated by distance."

" I'm afraid it's the only way, we'd never see each other, and plus, I'm sure there's someone better for you at that school your going to."

" Is there another girl?"

" No Cindy! They'll never be another girl for me but you, but don't you see, it's time that we went our separate ways."

She had crawled out of his arms.

" You take me to the most romantic place I've ever been and you tell me you want to break up with me?"

" Cindy, I took you here because I wanted to enjoy my last day with you the right way. Is that so wrong?" And she stupidly shook her head no.

" No, it's not." And she crawled into his arms again.

" I just want you to go and fall in love with some handsome, rich man, and then you can be happy for the rest of your life."

" But what if I wanted to be happy with you?"

He never responded, he just held her close and they sat, staring at the stars.

They never spoke again after that night. And it was so hard with him being everywhere. Constantly reminding her of him, of how her heart loved him for so long, of how she used to believe she would marry him. A tear slipped down her cheek.

Sometimes she wondered, if somewhere, in the deepest part of her heart, the part she tried to hide from herself, she wondered, if she still loved that genius that at one point meant more to her then life itself. She stepped out of the tub, and blow dried her hair, making it curl, and she sprayed herself with her best smelling perfume. It was now twelve-forty. She had let herself lose track of the time again! She hurried and slipped into a sexy nighty, put on her favorite lipstick grabbed her coat, and sat down on her couch, picked up the magazine, reading about Jimmy pretending like she had been ready for hours.

Sure enough, at one o' clock the doorbell rang once more and she stuffed the magazine under one of the cushions of her crappy couch. She found Alex, staring at her with a devilish smile on his face. He winked at her and kissed her. She took his hand, and he took her home. When they arrived, she found the t.v. to still be on. Jimmy... She took the remote. He glared at her.

" Hey, I think it's distracting." She said and pressed the off button. He just smiled and then kissed her passionately as he clapped his hands and all the lights went off.

Little did she know the news that she missed that night would soon change her peaceful, Jimmy free life.

So what do you think, should I continue? I've got this story pretty much written out, only a few chapters left to do, unlike my usual style where I do a chapter at a time, so whatever... ?

Thanks!


	2. Working Girl

Um.. What can I say but thanks for the lovely reviews! Um. I don't own Acceptance or their song So Contagiously from which I got this title.. No own Jimmy! Okay. Have fun reading! All my love!XKaTiEX!

Working Girl

She woke up in Alex's bed, all alone and she groaned. Her head felt like it had been hit by an anvil. She rolled onto her side to discover a note posted on the night stand.

_Went to work, there's some eggs in the ref. for you, and the coffee is for you as well. P.S. the robe is for you to keep._

_I love you baby! A.C._

She smiled as she rubbed her forehead again and slipped on the robe hanging by the bed, it had a huge red AC embroidered into the red silk. She yawned and stepped into his kitchen. It was like the size of her entire bedroom and totally stocked up with everything 'technological'. On the coffee table was a newspaper open to the funnies. She rolled her eyes, Alex knew that was the only part of the paper she ever read. She stuck the coffee on and pulled out the eggs, and stuck them in the microwave for a few seconds. It beeped a few seconds later, and she threw the plastic that had been covering them in the garbage and began to eat. They smelled so heavenly. After she was done reading the funnies, she decided to turn on the TV that was sitting across from her.

A friendly woman smiled at her.

" In other news, Jimmy Neutron has announced that he will be coming to New York very soon."

Cindy dropped the fork in her hand and it fell with a crash to the floor.

" He will be staying with the mayor and they will be doing some research for an upcoming project. So all girls should get themselves ready." She winked and fixed her hair stupidly. " I know I will." She blushed and then she regained her composure and continued. "He hasn't given us the exact date, but he did say it would be in the next month. And now, lets go to Scott to see what weather Jimmy Neutron can expect while he's in town."

She was sure she had dreamt it. She had to make sure she had dreamt it! She hurried over to Alex's computer.

" Password." The computer stated.

" Cindy Caldwin."

And it started up, it was a cheesy password but Alex liked to be cheesy.

She moved the mouse around, and she turned on the radio sitting next tothe computer and turned it to her favorite station KISS 89.

Stuck by Stacy Orrico was playing at the moment. She clicked on the news bulletin about Jimmy Neutron. She wasn't crazy! There it was in plain sight. She read it again and again, but every time it said the same thing.

'_Last night while talking about the Space Station and new developments in the Advanced Physics department, he says that the Space Station is doing well and that the occupants enjoy living in space. He funds the Space Station with his technological advances and a lot of companies have invested a lot of money in this Space Station. Jimmy says that he is developing another one that soon will be sent up. He has not released the name, or when it will be sent up for sure. Also he has revealed that he will be coming to New York city very soon._'

" This is Lacy for KISS 89, and that was Stacy Orrico, next up we've got an interview with Jimmy Neutron himself, trust me you don't want to miss this, but for now we'll play you a few more songs, right now it's Beautiful Love by the Afters."

Cindy sighed. She couldn't even listen to the radio without him being there! Just then the phone rang, and she let the answering machine get it because she figured it wasn't anyone she knew.

" Hey Cindy! It's me Libby!" She hurried over to the phone, how did she get Alex's home phone number?

" Hey Libby."

" Girl, did you hear the news? Jimmy is going to New York!"

" Yeah, I heard."

" Isn't that shocking? New York of all places."And then she sighed deeply. " Cindy, answer me truthfully do you think he knowsyou are there?"

" Well he knows I went to school here, but I don't think he knows I still live here."

"You should get together and have coffee or something," She suggested. Cindy had to admit, it did sound nice. " I mean you are both adults now, I think it's time you got over your little squabble and start talking again."

" Yeah, maybe."

" Well, anyway enough about that subject, you have to tell me about last night!"

" It was perfect in every way!" She laughed.

" That is great news Cindy. What are you doing now?"

" Just sitting here, eating the eggs he made me and drinking coffee. Why, what are you doing?"

" Waiting for the kids to wake up."

" By the way how did you get Alex's phone number?"

" You gave it to me for emergencies."

" And this is an emergency how?"

" It's not! I just wanted to see how last night went over."

" Oh, anything else you want to talk about?"

" Nah, I'll let you go."

Cindy rolled her eyes.

" Okay, bye!"

She got dressed after she hung up in the uniform for the Café' she worked at. It was just a black skirt and white blouse. She threw her hair up in a messy ponytail and grabbed her purse. She went outside to discover one of his extra hover-cars sitting outside and she rolled her eyes. She got inside and read the note stuck to the steering wheel.

_This is for you to keep._

She gasped, she couldn't believe he'd wasted his money like that. She started it up and it moaned underneath her, almost instantly it brought back memories. She sighed, and took off into the sky.

She arrived to work just on time. Her boss Nick Deche' gave her the evil eye, and walked over to her.

" Cindy, I was getting worried." He said handing her the custom pouch that the waitresses had to wear. She grabbed a pad and pencil, sticking it in the pouch and then sent her boss a wink. He just rolled his eyes and went back to his desk work.

She went out to work. The first table she had was the Mayor of New York. It wasn't a surprise, he often came here, it was one of his favorite places. She had to admit these days it was a pretty high-to duty place, but the waitresses still got paid poorly because most of the money went to Nick and the keeping of the restaurant. Nick claimed he came here so often because he liked to support small business, but personally she thought it was because of Tiffany, the waitress that he always flirted with. Sure enough when he saw Cindy, he looked disappointed.

" Where's Tiffany?"

" She had to work another table today, sorry you get me."

" Well then," he eyed her and she rolled her eyes as she tucked a loose bang behind her ear and he read her name tag." Hello Cindy."

" Hi. So what will you have?"

" Um, I'll have the Truffle Cheesecake, and the Special please."

" All right, anything to drink?"

" Um, a brandy will be good." He said, Tiffany had mentioned that he always ordered a Brandy with his meals.

" All right, that will be out shortly."

" Great, oh and Cindy," she turned towards him. " I would appreciate it if you would take my table again sometime soon." She just shot him a smile and turned away.

The restaurant (café)was a pretty small place, but it was nice. Lots of candles, and decorations everywhere, if she could afford it, she would come here to eat every now and then. She got back into the kitchen and handed Cook the order.

Just then Tiffany appeared from around the corner. She looked stunning today, her red hair was pulled back, which brought out her bright blue eyes (which unfortunately always reminded Cindy ofJimmy..)and she wore a nice pair of earrings that Cindy had never seen before.Tiffany was a very pretty girl, and she could understand why every guy who met her was entranced by her.

" You look great today Tiff!"

" Thanks Cindy," she said as she gave her a smile.

" You owe me one, that freak called our Mayoris hitting on me now," Cindy teased " Where were you?"

" I got caught in traffic, honestly, it's worse then it usual, apparently there was an accident."

" Nick didn't kill you?"

" No, you just gotta bat your eyelashes a few times and he forgets why he's mad."

" Maybe for you." She teased.

" Oh shut up, so how did your audition go?"

She was referring to the audition Cindy had done a few days for the new musical Try It On.

" Oh good, but I don't think I got a part, they said they'd call me if I got a part, and they haven't yet, so.." She let the sentence fall. " But enough about my failures, how did that session go?" Tiffany had recently had an offer from a modeling agency to do a few sessions and if they liked her, they would hire her to do poses.

" Actually it went really well," she responded with a smile.

" Good!" Cindy smiled and went back out the door to her next table. First she dropped off the Mayor's brandy then headed to the happy couple who were gazing at each other lovingly.

" Hi, I'm Cindy, and I'll be your waitress for tonight." She said. " What will you have?" The little woman, (she was really small actually, she only had to be about 5'1 or 5'2) spoke first.

" I want a White Wine, and Jack here will have water," she spoke sweetly and quietly. She seemed like a nice girl. Cindy nodded. " And what else?"

" We'll have that fish thing." Cindy nodded and wrote it down. Obviously these two weren't very high ranking socially or they would know how to pronounce the menu. Cindy worked here, and she couldn't pronounce it or understand what it meant, but that really didn't matter because all she had to do was write it down. She nodded and took off to the kitchen to find that the Mayor's order was up when she took it to him and he winked at her.

" It was nice meeting you Cindy."

" Yeah, thanks."

And as she walked away, she could feel him checking her out. It was going to be a long day.

She arrived home from work, deader then a doornail. She checked her messages, one from Libby, and one from Alex.

" Hey baby, you can move in tonight if you want, just bring your stuff to my house. I know you don't have that much. Last night was amazing by the way. Love ya."

She sighed and grabbed a few boxes that she kept under the sink and began packing.

A few hours later, her apartment was dry and empty. With her arms full, she locked the door behind her and then told her Attendant that she would not be returning any time soon and gave her the key. The lady smiled, and nodded. And with a moanCindy worked her way down the stairs. With a push and a shove she got her stuff into the hover-car her boyfriend had let her borrow. Finally she arrived at his apartment and unloaded all her stuff. He still wouldn't be home for another few hours, so she decided now would be a really good idea to try and cook for him.

Cindy went into the kitchen and found a recipe book even though she knew she couldn't cook, she promised herself if she was going to live in Alex's house the least she could do was cook dinner for him. She lit the table with candle light and roses. She tried to cook some fish, but she made a huge mess of her self . . . So she picked up the phone and ordered a domino's pizza with one of the tips she had made that afternoon. Alex arrived home about an hour later, to the table set beautifully and two slices of Pepperoni Pizza on both plates. He smiled as he looked at her, hair falling out of the messy ponytail she had put in.

" You look adorable," he greeted her with a small kiss on the lips.

" Thanks." She said, and shot him a smile. " I tried cooking, but.." He interrupted her by kissing her again.

" It looks like you did okay, it smells wonderful." He winked at her. " I'm going to go get changed, I'll be right back, you can start eating if you want," she shook her head no and reached into the Wine cabinet to pull out some wine. He soon returned and sat down in his chair across from her.

" So how was work today?" He finally broke the silence.

" Oh fine, except the Mayor kept checking me out." She responded, he stared at her with wide eyes.

Alex laughed and tickled her.

" Well you are worth checking out my dear, trust me," he winked at her and finished his pizza. Cindy winked right back, then got up, crossed the room, and kissed him flat on the mouth.

- Well? Good? Bad... Terrible? lol! Okay! Katie!-


	3. Welcome to New York

New York Welcomes You

The next morning, she awoke again to an empty bed, and she slipped on the robe he had left on the dresser again. She checked the time, Eight o clock. Shoot, she needed to be at work in an hour. She went into the kitchen and ate her Special K bar and watched the news.

The lady appeared with a big smile on her face. "Jimmy Neutron arrived late last night," and then Cindy stopped in the middle of a bite. "And it is rumored he is only staying about two weeks, then leaving again. And now to the Mayor who is going to properly welcome Mr. Neutron to our humble city." Then the Mayor appeared and the screen flashed. LIVE LAST NIGHT again and again.

" The City of New York welcomes you Mr. James Isaac Neutron." She rubbed the back of her neck and there he was, standing in all his glory, shaking the Mayor's hand brimming with pride. He looked dashing in his suit, it certainly brought out his blue eyes. She shook her head. No! Bad. Don't be thinking that sort of thing she scorned herself. This couldn't be right! The news had hit only two days ago! He did say he was coming soon, but she was sure no one expected him this soon.

" Hello New York!" He smiled, brimming with confidence. She reached for the phone and dialed Libby.

" Libby! Turn on your TV.!" She screamed into the receiver.

Libby did as she was told, and almost immediately gasped.

" He's there?"

" Apparently."

" But the news just came out like a day ago!"

" I know I know, it's insane!"

" Now remember, you said you would try to have coffee with him or something."

" I said if I see him, I'm sure he's swamped enough as it is, he won't have time for me."

" I suppose so."

" The truth is I'm not sure I want to run into him, I mean everything is so perfect right now, I'm not sure I could take running into him."

"I'm really sorry, but I have to take the kids to daycare now, I'm so sorry."

" It's okay, I just wanted to let you know he's here now."

" Okay."

" Bye!"

She hung up and put on her 'uniform' and went to work. She got there, and her boss smiled at her.

" Get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

" No."

" You get the Mayors table again, he specifically asked for your presence today," Nick smiled and winked.

" Thanks, love you too, Nick." She said and headed out the door. There was another man with him this morning, and he was facing the other way.

He had that chocolate color hair. Cindy stopped in her tracks. No, it couldn't be, could it? Jimmy was with the mayor so it could be him, logically. And then she noticed that the people in the booth across from the mayor, were sitting and staring at the man that wasn't facing her. It was Jimmy! Immediately she scurried back to the kitchen. Where was she going to hide? She searched and searched over the counter, then a lonely little broom closet. That was it! Could she fit in there? Who cared? She scrambled over to it, and squeezed in, shutting the door behind her. She crouched down in one of the corners. There was no way she was going to have her ex-boyfriend see her like this.

" Cindy? Where are you?" But she didn't answer. " Oh that girl, you owe me one Cindy!"

" This is where it all happens Mr. Neutron. The secrets behind the Café' Bella are about to be revealed to you." The mayor? " Hello Sir, Mr. Neutron has requested to see your kitchen."

" Well then, Mr. Neutron, I'm Nick Deche' the owner of Café Bella." He said, and Cindy began to panic, Jimmy was coming back here? " Aren't the ladies here beautiful Mr. Neutron?"

" Why yes Sir, they are." He replied and inside Cindy involuntarily swooned. It was so nice to hear his voice again, so strong, so gentle and so sweet, yet so rough and sexy. She heard a few of the girls giggling.

" I'm Lindsay," one said.

" I'm Tiffany.," she laughed inside at the thought of Tiffany throwing herself at her Ex.

" Well that is my crew, wait I should find Cindy," Cindy cringed at her name, but Jimmy didn't seem to respond. Of course what was she worried about? He hadn't used her last name and there were lots of Cindy's in the world.

" Cindy? Cindy? Are you here?" He pulled on the bathroom handle, unlocked. " Well I'm sorry but it seems as if one of my waitresses has gone missing."

" Well, that is quite all right, if she is half as lovely as these young ladies, she must be very beautiful as well."

" She is one of the most beautiful girls here."

Cindy's jaw dropped.

" Oh, really."

" Yes, and if I find her I shall see if I can send her straight out to you, all right?"

" Oh yes, of course."

" Well then, you may have any table you choose," Nick responded, and with that, they were out of the door.

" Cindy! Get your butt out here! " And then Cindy opened the Broom closet door. Everyone stared at her, including Nick.

" What the devil Cindy? Didn't you hear me calling you? You just missed the most important man in the world .

" Oh really, who was it?"

" Only Jimmy Neutron!"

" Oh really, darn."

"Who do you think you are, disappearing on me like that?"

" Sorry, I felt like, I needed to," she paused. " To clean." She smiled.

" Well now you will serve them!" He said throwing her a pad of paper.

At that point she knew there was no way she was going to get out of this meeting. Maybe if she talked to Lindsay or Tiffany they would do it for her. No, she knew she needed to do this. So with a deep breathe, she took pencils and walked out with her head held high in the air. A man with dark hair sat facing the window. The mayor smiled at her and Cindy smiled back. She stood in front of their table trying to avoid eye-contact with the boy genius she had loved for so long.

" Hello, I'm Cindy and I will be you're."

" Cindy, Cindy Vortex?" He asked surprised.

And as she had no excuse, she finally looked up from her clipboard, into his blue eyes. They were as beautiful as ever shining in the sunset. He looked so amazing in his dark business suit that for a moment she couldn't speak. She gulped, smiled, and nodded her head. When she finally regained the breath in her body, she responded.

" Jimmy Neutron, is that really you?" She laughed nervously as she tucked a loose blonde bang behind her ear.

" Yes! How are you?"

" I've been pretty good, and I see you're doing pretty well yourself."

" As well as ever."

This meeting was going much easier then she had thought it would.

" You know we should get together sometime this week for coffee or something." He shot her a smile, it was even brighter and more beautiful then she remembered! She felt the power leaving from her legs so she firmly grabbed the table for support. He started to get up to help her, but she motioned for him to sit down.

" Are you all right?" The mayor asked. She looked up into Jimmy's eyes.

" Yeah, I'm fine, I've just been feeling a little out of it tonight that's all, so what will you be having?"

After she had taken their order and had gone back to the kitchen, she felt much better.

" I'm so glad that's over," she said to herself.

" That what is over?"

She jumped to see Tiffany standing next to her.

" Meeting Jimmy?"

She nodded.

" He's so dreamy, isn't he? Those blue eyes, I've never seen any like them, and they are even better in real life!"

" Yeah."

" I bet he's an amazing kisser."

" Yeah, I bet he is." She closed her eyes and went back out the door to get another order.

Every time she went out, she glanced at the man in the corner. Sometimes he would even look at her and shoot her a smile. Her heart beat would quicken a few million beats every single time. One time, she had even dropped a glass because she had been looking at him. Luckily, he hadn't seen it. Finally his order was up and she could finally take it to him.

" Enjoy," she said as she walked away from the table.

And as she did, she heard the mayor whisper.

" You know that beautiful girl?"

Unfortunately she couldn't hear Jimmy's response.

When they were finished she took their plates and brought out the check, and she came back and took his credit card. And when she took the book, a little slip of napkin fell out.

_Hope to see you soon._

And she looked up at the head facing the window and smiled. He was flirting with her! And instantly that familiar warm sensation in her stomach returned full force. She ran his card, and returned with it. He looked up into her eyes and smiled, she nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

Finally when she was done with work she was exhausted as usual. She stepped out into the New York night.

" Cind!" Tiffany called after her. Cindy started 'her' hover-car. " I saw that little moment between you and Neutron. You know him, don't you?"

" No, I just think he's really handsome, I mean what girl doesn't?"

" The way he looked at you though, I think he likes you."

" So, what? He just thought I was cute?" Just then she dropped the piece of napkin she had taken from his table and Tiffany picked it up and smiled.

" Just thought you were cute eh? Again I say I think he liked you," she said with a tease. Cindy just shrugged and climbed into the hover-car.

" Even if he does like me, I can't like him," she said as she took off into the sky and when she knew that no one would hear her, she promised herself." Never again."

With a sigh she arrived at their apartment, she plopped down on the couch after taking a nice long shower. Alex appeared from the Kitchen, holding a plate and a fork. He handed it to her, and it was her favorite, just good old plain salad. She smiled.

"You looked like you had a hard day."

" You don't know the half of it." She responded with a smile.

" You are so beautiful," he said as he kissed her forehead.

" Oh not tonight, I'm too tired," she admitted.

He nodded.

" I understand, do you want to watch TV. or.."

" Yeah, something nice and relaxing," she responded and he turned on his huge flat screen TV. He walked into the kitchen again and returned with some Chai Tea. She smiled and kissed him.

" Thanks."

Badwolf, thanks for being so honest! To be truthful I didn't really think about going into Alex's Character more, he's just kind of there for now.. **But **he will be playing a pretty big part later in the story and we will get to know his character a lot better, but for now, he's just kind of a back round character. Hopefully this chapter was better!


	4. Fairy Tale Boyfriend

Yeah! Here it is. Stinky-ness and all. :D No Own Jimmy. -XKaTiEX-

A Fairy Tale Boyfriend

The next morning she woke up in their bed refreshed and simply happy. She crawled out of the bed, and read the note from Alex. She made some toaster waffles and got ready for another day at stupid work. She sighed as she turned over a magazine sitting on the counter.

A few hours later she was working again. It sucked up every moment of her time pretty much. She had to work like every day so she could afford food and such. She sighed and Nick smiled at her.

" Morning Cindy," he said giving her the thumbs up and she just smiled and grabbed her pad and paper. To her surprise, the Mayor wasn't there this fine morning. She almost felt a little sad.

One of her costumers stopped her abruptly.

" Miss, is it true that Jimmy Neutron was here?"

" Why, yes he was, I was his waitress."

The lady stared at her, entranced by what she said.

" Is he as handsome as he looks in pictures?"

" Even more so Ma'am. May I take your order?"

After lots and lots of orders, and hours of work, she walked out of the restaurant dead tired. Tiffany was walking with her on this lovely evening. Well not so lovely, the sky was grey and it threatened rain. But with how she felt today, the sky was blue and the sun was shining for all she knew.

" So you doing anything with your boyfriend tonight?"

" No, I'm not, I don't think. Why?"

" Well I was kind of hoping you could catch that Jimmy and we can talk some." She smiled at her.

" Why?"

" Because I really liked him and would love to talk to him some more, and he seemed to like you so," she smiled. " Please?"

" Oh, well I don't even know his phone number."

" I don't think you'll need to." She said pointing just ahead to The City Gazer which was the best hotel in town, it had all the luxuries one person would ever want. And there standing in the pouring rain in all his glory was Jimmy Neutron, flashes going off every minute or so.

" Look at all that press, we'll never get to him! So I'm just going to go."

" CINDY!" He cried out to her and Cindy sighed. He had seen her all the way from his hotel? He scurried over to them, press following close behind. "I didn't think you'd take up my offer this early."

" Hey Jimmy."

He smiled.

" No one has called me that in a long time," just then a few drops of rain fell down.

Great, they were going to be caught in a rain storm now! But Jimmy had come prepared and pulled out his umbrella and gave it to the two girls. For a moment Cindy's fingers made contact with his. A rush of emotions and memories came back, she closed her eyes trying to fight them off.

" There now you two won't get wet." He said with a slight smile as the rain poured down on his head. " Do you guys want to go inside?" He gestured towards a nearby Starbucks and Cindy nodded. When they got inside he chose a booth right away.

" Now, you're Tiffany right?"

Tiffany nodded, entranced by the man that was sitting with them.

" I'm James Neutron, and as Cindy has it, Jimmy for short."

" Hello Jimmy," she quietly responded. He smiled at her and the two began talking and Cindy got up to order. When she got back the two were locked in conversation, she just listened and put in a word or two every so often.

It was official, Jimmy didn't feel anything for her anymore. A little twinge of pain flowed through her, and she scorned herself. Why should she care

She looked up from her Iced Coffee into his extremely blue eyes. He smiled at her and went back to talking with Tiffany. Just then Tiffany's cell phone rang and she hurried out of the Lobby into a deserted hall.

" That's quite the interesting friend you have there."

" Yeah, and she really likes you," Jimmy blushed deeply.

After a moment of awkward silence she re-directed the conversation.

" So how is life Neutron?" She asked as she stirred her drink.

" Oh life is great I suppose."

" What does it feel lie to be the richest man in the world?"

" Well the money is kind of fun, and so is being treated like a King. But I didn't get everything I wanted. I mean I am single," his eyes averted her gaze. Obviously he wasn't comfortable so she re-directed the conversation again.

"So have you talked to anyone back home, your mom, your dad?"

" Well my dad died a few years back in an auto accident, but my mom is great."

" Oh," she reached out and squeezed his hand, it was an action she really hadn't been planning. "I'm so sorry!"

" Oh it's okay, how about you, do you still talk to your family?"

" Oh yeah, my mom calls me every other week and I tell her things are just fine, even though sometimes that's a lie."

" Yeah, I think we have all pulled that one at one time or another," he laughed and looked down at his hand, and at that exact moment Cindy realized that her hand was still holding on to his tightly. She immediately withdrew it but it was tingling annoyingly.

"Libby and I are still best friends of course, she and Sheen are so happy together. How about you, do you still talk to any of our friends?"

" I talk to Carl a lot, he's really good, he's got a wife and a few kids, he works at an Allergy 911 Help Line place, I actually think it's doing pretty well. Sheen and I talked a while back, he sent me an email with a family photo."

" Their kids are so cute!" Cindy squealed.

He nodded and for a short second there was silence.

" So, how is your romantic life, you seeing anyone lately?"

The question was so out of the blue it almost caught her off guard.

" Well, yes actually. I am dating Alex Caldwin, we've been dating for two years, and I moved in with him just recently."

" Wow Cindy! That's so great, I'm happy for you. You deserve it, so do you have any wedding plans yet?"

" No, he hasn't proposed, and I'm sort of getting sick of waiting for him to," the statement stunned her, she hadn't known she felt that. But then again Jimmy had always had that affect on her. He could make her tell him anything with just a smile. Well, maybe not everything.

" Well I can understand why," he said with a smile.

" So, I heard that you came here to find your true love?."

" Well," he paused for a moment, looked out the window and then back to her. " In a way, yes."

Just then Tiffany rejoined them.

" Sorry about that! My agent." She said as she sat down across from Jimmy and he smiled at her warmly.

" Nice to have you back Miss," he said politely and Tiffany blushed a dark crimson.

Cindy took the hint and stood up.

" Well I'm off, I'm sure Alex is wondering where I am at." She said and winked at Tiffany. Jimmy waved as she left.

That night she went to the house to see Alex watching the TV, he shot her a smile as he muted it.

" Where were you?"

" Oh I just ran into an old friend, that's all.," she replied as she leaned over and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

" That's great! Who was it?"

The question made her stop for a second.

" You won't believe me when I tell you," she teased as she sat down on the couch next to him.

" Try me."

" Jimmy Neutron."

He stared at her.

" **The** James Neutron?"

" Yes, the James Neutron."

" You know him, **personally**?"

" Yes, I am one of the only people who knows him as Jimmy Neutron."

" Do you think that you could introduce us? I mean, he's like the world power, I mean do you think you could put in a good word at least?"

Cindy smiled and kissed him.

" Anything for you."

He laughed.

" You are way too easily manipulated," she laughed as she leaned in to kiss him, and just then the phone rang. Alex sighed as he got up from the couch and answered it. From the couch she licked her lips and sent him a wink. He smiled, rolled his eyes and held up a finger.

She sat back down and faced the TV. Then all of a sudden, it flashed to her and Tiffany standing next to Jimmy, talking happily. Then it showed him kindly offer his umbrella and as Cindy took it, and she watched the screen as their skin made contact. Almost instantly her hand started tingling.. She shook it off and the screen showed all three of them walk into Starbucks.

" Who are these mystery girls? How are they involved with Mr. Neutron? We will report more tomorrow night."

Alex laughed as he hung up the phone.

" Guess you weren't lying after all baby," he said as he embraced her.

" Who was that?"

" Yeah, that was the Mayor, he wants me to come down to his office for some business stuff, so yeah, you know where to find everything right?"

Cindy pouted.

" Now, now, no unhappy faces," he said and then kissed her.

" Fine." She said as he waved goodbye and hurried out the door.

She sighed, she had the house entirely to herself now, so she turned off the TV and decided to take a nice long bath.

As she laid in the tub, she thought about Alex. About everything that he had given her over the years. Love, affection and understanding. He had given up his 'fiancé' that his mother had designated him for who was like some princess of Spain or something. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.

She loved his family, His father John Caldwin was a sweet heart, his mother Shelly Caldwin loved her, and she all ready considered her a daughter. His younger brother Steve was a sweetheart too. She had only talked to him once though, and it was over the phone, but she did like him.

It was kind of nice to know she had people who cared about her so much. She frowned, how could she have even thought that she had been ready to give that all up? To go for an ex-boyfriend? She shook her head as she washed the soap out of her hair. His mother loved her, his brother loved her.

She was not going to let Jimmy just waltz in and re-arrange her life. Again.

Alex was everything to her. But once upon a time. Jimmy had been as well. Just then she made a silent agreement with herself. She was not going to give up her fairy tale boyfriend for an ex-boyfriend who left her high and dry. No, indeed she was not.


	5. Double Dates

No own Jimmy. Okay? - all my love, katie-

Double Dates

Jimmy came the next day. Cindy could barely keep herself contained. What was up with this? Tiffany had been his specific server and she came back, skipping.

" Oh my gosh! Neutron just asked me out!"

Cindy blinked as she almost dropped a few plates and coughed.

" What?"

" I said, he asked me out!" She chirped happily.

He was sitting with that no good, prissy, know it all Tiffany.

Cindy mentally slapped herself. She didn't disrespect Tiffany at all! She liked Tiffany! So where was this rage coming from?

This jealousy?

She twisted a piece of her hair nervously.

Could it really be old feelings returned? No, it couldn't be! After all he'd only been there a matter of two days, and there was no way.. She had promised herself!

And yet as she watched him flirting with Tiffany she grew more and more angry. When she went to collect their plates Jimmy smiled up at her.

" Hey Cindy, he actually was wondering if maybe you and Alex would care to join us on a double date tomorrow evening?"

" Oh, well I guess, why where are we going?"

" To a musical," Tiffany chirped happily.

" Oh, really! Which one?"

" Get With Me. I've heard it's very popular."

" OH! Yes, I've been wanting to see that!" Cindy exclaimed happily.

" Here is two more tickets, and we'll meet you at the front door all right?"

" Oh, yeah I guess."

" Okay then! Thanks!"

Tiffany giggled nervously.

" I have to go give him his bill.."

She could feel the life being sucked out of her.

As soon as Tiff was gone, she sat down on a chair and sighed.

" You know, you really shouldn't make it so obvious," Nick!

She stood up instantly and shook her head.

" I don't know what you are talking about," she retorted.

" Oh, yes you do. I am talking about your affections for a certain young, handsome genius which is sitting in our Parlor at this very moment," she instantly looked at him and scowled.

" You don't know what you are talking about."

" Of course I do, do you really think I am that blind Cindy? I can see just as clear as every one else who saw the look in your eyes when she said he asked her out."

" What! I don't like Jimmy! I never have, and I never will." She exclaimed and Nick raised an eyebrow.

" You like him."

" No! No, absolutely not."

" Then why are you blushing so badly?" He asked with a tease. " Anyway Cindy, if I was a girl like you, I would act soon before he slipped away for good," he said.

Cindy looked into a mirror and indeed she had flushed quite a bit. She watched as Nick walked out into the Main Lobby area. She shouldn't be so stupid! Come on!

She scrubbed a few more tables, her hands getting very sore, hours passed and still the happy couple sat making goo- goo eyes at each other. Finally she could not resist it any longer.

" Excuse me, but you can't be here if you don't order anything else," she snapped.

Tiffany looked at her with surprise. Jimmy just smiled stupidly.

" Cindy! You know that's not the rule for workers," Tiffany responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

" You know Tiffany, she's probably right, we should go, I'll take you **home**," he said with an emphasis on the word home. Was he deliberately trying to make her angry? Jealous maybe? Cindy took their plates from the table.

" Oh and Cindy, I'll see you tomorrow night," he said sweetly as he took his dates arm.

" Yeah, tomorrow night.'

And with that they walked out the door, soon Nick was standing beside her.

" You know that was probably not the way to handle that," he said as he picked up the remaining dishes on the table.

" Yeah, I don't know what came over me," she responded washing the table off.

" I would say it was a word that starts with a j has an ea and l in the middle and ends in ousy," he teased.

" What! That was not jealousy, it was anger! It is weird seeing a good friend going out with your ex-boyfriend."

The words escaped her lips before she could stop them. She could feel her cheeks heating up and her heart beat quicken.

Nick stared at her as she finished washing the table.

" You, you used to date James Neutron?"

She sighed.

" Yes! I used to date him all right? Satisfied now? So it's weird for me to see him here, with another girl, I mean I thought I was okay with it, but you know, after tonight I am a little afraid.."

" Why?"

" Because for a minute or two, just like you said, my feelings for him came rushing back Nick, and that can't happen again. I have a boyfriend, I am perfectly happy.."

" Yeah, but you don't have him do you?"

The words were painfully true.

" I don't think I was ever supposed to," she replied quietly as they entered the kitchen together.

" Well, it's good that your trying to move on Cindy," he said as he began the washer.

" Yeah, I know, it's very good," she replied she put her pouch in her cubby and walked out the door.

"Except I'm not sure if I am completely over him yet," she quietly told herself.

She shook her head, what was she thinking? Of course she was over him! She was practically engaged to another man. How could she have let herself think that she was in love with Jimmy just because he waltzed back into her life and threw her a few heart stopping smiles? It wasn't like he was that good looking after all, no he was still very ugly, and his eyes weren't that beautiful! Alex's were better, such a deeper blue..

Hah, she didn't love Jimmy, and it was silly to even have let the thought crossed her mind.

She got home that night, flabbergasted by her own silly thoughts. As Alex smiled at her and he embraced her she pulled out the tickets from her coat pocket.

" These are for us, Jimmy wants us to go on a double date with him and Tiffany."

" That's wonderful Cindy! I can't wait to meet this friend of yours, this man of such power!"

" Yeah, a man of power is right," she mumbled under her breathe.

" What was that dear?"

" Oh nothing, nothing at all," she said as she placed the tickets on the counter. She climbed onto the couch and started to think, sifting through her memories.. And then for some odd reason she remembered the fact that Jimmy was with Tiffany right now, probably somewhere making out in a dark corner. The thought made her seethe angrily and clench her teeth tightly.

" Cindy? What are you looking so upset about?"

She shook her head, she was letting her emotions run away with her again.

" Nothing, just thinking about work that's all, I mean I have to work every day, all day pretty much, sometimes I just want to be here with you," she lied through her teeth.

" Oh honey! I know," he comforted her as he wrapped his arms around her again.

Inside she sighed, actually you don't know. You don't know that I am falling in love with another man, and you can't stop me. The thought was so sudden that it made Cindy stop for a moment.

No, she scorned herself, she was imagining it all, she loved Alex more then everything! She sighed as he kissed the side of her mouth softly.

" Hmm, come to bed?"

She giggled and nonverbally responded by placing a small kiss on his lips.

" I'm too tired honey, sorry," she painfully responded. Since when did she ever deny Alex anything?

'Since Jimmy came' a little voice whispered and she swore at it.

'Back off you got me?'

' But why Cindy? You know that Nick was right. It's not a matter of IF you like him anymore, but rather what you are going to do about it'

' Shut up! I don't have time for you!'

' Fine, but you'll come to see it my way soon enough.'

And with that her little voice finally shut up and she crawled into their bed and she closed her eyes, ready for a peaceful sleep.

' Cindy loves Jimmy, Cindy loves Jimmy,' it teased.

" SHUT UP!"

" Cindy, I didn't say anything," Alex said quietly as he rolled over to face her. She covered her mouth instantly. " Are you all right?"

" Yeah, just tired."

' Liar.'

Cindy rolled her eyes and then finally fell asleep.

-- The Next Night --

She had gone to work, thinking about Jimmy every second.. She sighed as the night came to a close. She checked her watch, she had made arrangements so that she could get off an hour early.

" Well, I'm off Nick," she called as she put her pouch in her cubby.

" Yeah! See you tomorrow!"

" Yeah, you will," she responded as she walked out of the Café'.

She pulled the ponytail out of her hair and speeded away into the sky. An hour later she stood at the door, patiently waiting for Alex to show. She nervously smoothed her white dress. It was a regular dream. She had dressed up tonight because Jimmy had mentioned that they would be in the same box as the Mayor! She gulped nervously, throwing her hair up into a messy bun and taking a few loose curls and hung them on her neck and fixed her necklace.

Just then the door opened and Alex stared at her for a moment, speechless.

" You look so beautiful!" He chimed and kissed her quickly and she giggled.

" Thanks, so are we off?"

" We're off!" He yelled happily.


	6. Get With Me

I have decided that I hate messenger. : LOL. I know I updated, but since I am leaving in like three days, and don't know when I will get time to update again.. I will be updating kind of crazy like over the next few days! SORRY! All my love, -Katie-

Get With Me

Cindy and Alex stood waiting by the Main Entrance to the theater. Cindy played nervously with her bracelet.

" I.. um.. I don't know why they aren't here yet!" She said, checking Alex's watch again. Seven thirty, the show started in half an hour.

" Probably because they got caught in air traffic," she recognized Tiffany's voice immediately. She snapped out of her reverie and embraced her friend. She was wearing a beautiful bright blue dress which came to a V in the front to reveal a blue tear shaped gem that Cindy secretly hoped for a brief moment wasn't from Jimmy.

" Wow! You look amazing Tiffany," she said happily.

" And you don't look so bad yourself either," she smiled. " Ug! What is taking him so long? He said he was just going to park the hover-car."

" I took a little detour on the way," a familiar voice said sweetly.

Cindy looked from her friend and out of the darkness stepped Jimmy Neutron. He was wearing a Tux which made him look gorgeous he shot his date a smile and instantly Cindy lost control of her knees and started to fall forwards into Tiffany. Tiffany quickly reached out and caught her, Jimmy quickly hurried over and also assisted Cindy. His face was so close to her, his forbidden lips looked so delicious. His eyes sparkled in the night air and he smiled at her softly.

" Mr. Neutron!" Alex called and instantly Cindy awoke from her daydream and stepped back from Jimmy.

" Yes, that's me," he said kindly to her boyfriend.

" I am Alex Caldwin, and I am the head of Limited Inc!"

" Oh really! Well it's nice to meet you Mr. Caldwin, I've heard much about you from your girlfriend."

" Well hopefully it's been good things that she tells you."

" Oh yes, only the best Sir," he responded with a smile.

An awkward silence fell over them.

" Oh! I almost forgot here Tiff, this is for you," he said as he gave a rose to Tiffany.

Inside Cindy burned silently with rage.

" Shall we head in?" Jimmy asked as Cindy returned to Alex.

" Yes, let's," Alex responded taking Cindy's arm.

" Cindy are you all right?" He whispered as soon as they were alone.

As Tiffany and Jimmy walked off arm in arm, she wanted to say no.

She mentally slapped herself she was letting her emotions run off with her again!

" Yes dear, I'm fine."

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath as they arrived in the Mayors' box. Cindy had to admit, it was a fairly large box, and obviously a new addition since it still sort of smelled like paint. Alex sat down in the farthest chair towards the wall, and then Cindy, and then Jimmy and then Tiffany.

Cindy couldn't help but be a tish nervous. She began to crumple her program.

" Hey, are you okay babe?" Alex asked from the side.

" Yes, I am fine, just fine," she responded as she ripped a little piece from her program.

Just then Alex reached over and took it from her.

" Calm down dear, it's only a show."

" Yeah, I know."

And so they watched, all interested. It was the story of a man and a woman and how they denied that they loved each other. She gulped nervously. Was this some form of heavenly intervention? Was someone trying to give her a sign?

Finally it was intermission and the two had just had a small sexual encounter as they danced in a bar.

" Wow, this play is amazing!" Tiffany squealed happily.

" Yes it is, I personally am fond of this plot," she gulped nervously hoping no one had made the connection. But instantly she rationalized and told herself that no one could have made the connection through that simple statement, could they? " I mean obviously they love each other and are intended for each other, they just need to face up to it."

Tiffany squealed happily. " OHH! I hope they do! I hope they do," and almost sub-consciously Cindy looked towards Jimmy, who looked at her.

" Yeah, I hope they do too," he whispered. Cindy stared into his eyes which seemed to be trying to read through her very thoughts.

" Ah, it's all hogwash if you ask me!" Alex said bitterly. " I mean come on, they are not being adults if they can't confess to one another," Cindy turned away from Jimmy, blushing deeply.

" Yes, very true Mr. Caldwin, very true," the Mayor interrupted. " But you know, denial is a very common thing and it sometimes can go right under a persons nose, until someone makes a move," he said.

" Wow!" Jimmy exclaimed. " You sure are observant Mr. Mayor," he said sweetly.

"What can I say, I've had personal experience," and for some reason he looked directly at Jimmy, and then directly at Cindy. He smiled at her and Cindy's eyes grew wide. He was on to her! She gulped nervously.

" Well I am terribly sorry," Jimmy replied, obviously he hadn't noticed the little exchange between the Mayor and Cindy and she sighed in relief.

" Oh it didn't happen to me Mr. Neutron, it happened to someone who I admire very much, well rather it's happening and he doesn't even see it," Cindy could defiantly feel her cheeks heating up again.

" Oh! Tell us who Mr. Mayor!" Squealed Tiffany, and just then the starting notes for the Second Act began. Thank you God she whispered inside.

The Second Act was little instances that this couple had. How they kept denying it, even after they had kissed, even after they had been on a successful date they refused to see what was right in front of them.

Which brought Cassie into the picture, she was a slut basically that fell in love with Leon( the main male character) and finally Kara (the main female character) couldn't take it anymore and had confronted him in the middle of the bar floor.

" Well I never loved you!"

" I never asked you to!"

" WELL I DO!" Kara shouted.

The main man character, Leon, stopped in his tracks and Kara covered her mouth.

" What did you just say?" He asked as he inched closer to Kara. She gulped nervously and so did Cindy as she glanced at Jimmy who seemed to be entranced by what was happening on the stage.

" I said, I said I love you Leon.. I guess I've loved you for a long time now, and you make me crazy. I love you so much." Leon took Kara in his arms and brushed his hand through her hair.

" Hm, well I might just have to punish you for that," he responded and kissed her on the lips.

" I love you,"

" And I love you,"

And with that, they burst into song, bringing the whole company into it.

" Why don't you let down your guard, let your heart show you the way.. Come on and Get With ME!"

The last choruses brought Cindy near tears. Now she was certain someone in the heavens was trying to torture her! She gripped her program as a tear slipped down her cheek.

" Beautiful play right?" She asked the beautiful genius sitting next to her.

" Yeah, really touching," he said awkwardly and he started playing with his thumb. " But we should go Tiffany, it's late."

" Yes I agree."

Jimmy looked into her eyes for a moment and Cindy felt her heart lurch nervously.

" Have a good night Cindy," he snapped bitterly. What had got into him?

She watched as the two left the small box. Cindy picked up her torn program and walked out arm and arm with Alex. When they got to the door he stopped with a frown, she looked outside and sure enough it was pouring like crazy.

" I'll go get the hover-car."

" Okay, and I have to use the restroom," she replied as she scurried away from the scene, she was not going to be stuck there with Tiffany. Just then a firm hand stopped her. The Mayor beamed at her.

" Miss Cindy, I feel for you,"

" Sir, I don't know what you mean."

" You love him, don't you?"

" Alex? Of course!"

" No, the other one,"

" Jimmy? No.."

" Stop lying to yourself dear, because I know what I saw between you two, it was like a bomb just waiting to explode, it was interesting because the plot of the musical was happening right in our very box!"

" You don't know what you are talking about," she retorted.

" Oh don't play dumb with me, you've got to see that he is using Tiffany as a way to make you jealous! If I can see it so could a blind man! You two are totally and completely in love with the other but neither of you wants to face up to it! Ironic really," he paused and Cindy blushed deeply.

" I don't think my personal life is any of your business Sir,"

" All right, but when he confesses his love to you, or the other way around just remember I'm the one who told you first!" He cried as she broke away from his grip and hurried to the bathroom. When she got there, she noted that her color had escalated by a few hues to a dangerously dark red. She touched her warm cheeks in surprise and utter distain. She shook her head. She was stupid, really.

" Oh hey Cindy," Tiffany said as she walked into the bathroom.

" Hey Tiff, hasn't it stopped raining yet?"

" No and Jimmy insists that I don't go out until it stops,"

" Yeah, he's pretty decent that way," she responded as she touched her cheeks once again.

' I saw the Mayor stop you, what did he want?"

" Oh, just nothing, nothing at all."

" You got pretty red, did he hit on you again?"

" Well, sort of, not really, he asked me questions about a personal matter, and accused me of a few things," she let her words trail off into the distance.

" Well I'm sorry," she responded.

" Yeah, thanks."

" Well I'm off! OHH!" She squealed happily. " I hope Jimmy kisses me good night!" And with that she was out the door. As soon as she was gone, Cindy buried her head in her hands again and began to cry. A few ladies gave her weird looks.

" What?" She snapped at them she wiped the stains of mascara off her cheeks.

They just smiled and nodded. One old lady actually sopped and tapped her on the arm.

" Honey you don't have forever for him to come to you.. Be the one to make the move."

" I don't want him! I have a boyfriend."

" My dear, I am a hundred years old, and I am not stupid, just ask yourself if you would be crying over him if you didn't feel something for him," she said and tapped her arm lightly. " Your eyes betray you my dear, and I don't just say that because they are red and teary, just so you know that."

She turned around to face the mirror again, and stared at her red eyes.. Did she mean because she was crying? Cindy looked into the glass carefully trying to figure out what the old lady meant. Did she see something in Cindy's eyes that Cindy couldn't? She touched her wet face and took a deep breath.

She was losing her mind! She gave herself a final primp and walked out of the bathroom, head held high. She saw Alex standing near the door, waiting for her, the rain had stopped now.

" Hey there," he said as he kissed her forehead.

" Yeah, hey," she said quietly.

" You okay?"

" Yeah, I just.. Loved the play so much."

" I did too Cindy, I did too," he whispered and kissed her forehead softly.

" Let's go home," she said as she took his arm.

She was going to leave this place behind. This place of deceit, of lies, of truth.. She shuttered as they walked outside into the cold. She looked to the sky, and all of a sudden out from a cloud peeked the moon. She looked to the cement and she began humming the 'finale' of the play as she took Alex's hand.


	7. A Talk

Yes, if you are wondering, I did indeed make up the play Get With Me. It is in no way a real musical. :D No own Jimmy! -XKaTiEX-

A Talk

The next day she awoke, dead tired due to the fact she had not slept one bit the night before.

Every moment had been taken by Jimmy, of his stupid beautiful blue eyes.. Of the play. It had been an okay night. She groaned as she splashed her face with some cold water. When she opened her eyes she saw his blue eyes staring back at her.

She screamed loudly and jumped back from the mirror. Alex soon came running.

" Are you okay?"

" Yah, I just.." She paused blinking stupidly at the mirror. " I am just losing my mind," she whispered as she brushed her hair and threw it up into a ponytail.

" Well that's okay, because it's sexy.." he said and kissed her cheek quickly. She slapped his chest and then kissed him.

" Bye," she said as she grabbed her coat.

" Yeah, I love you," he said.

" Love you!" She called back.

She decided right then she was not going to think about Jimmy once.

But her plan had a fatal twist. Jimmy came to the restaurant, alone.

" Cindy!" Nick called.

" Yeah?"

" Mr. Neutron specifically asked for you as his server today," he gave her a small smile and Cindy glared at him. As she walked out, he spanked her with his towel. She glared at him again and walked out the door. He looked dead tired too, his beautiful eyes were blood shot, his hair which was usually perfect, was a mess. And somehow in some demented way or other he looked really, really good.

" Hi Jimmy," she said as she smiled at him. He half smiled and gestured for her to sit down.

" Have a seat," his voice was so hoarse, what on earth did he and Tiffany do last night?

" Yeah?"

" As many times as I've been through this the past twenty four hours, I can't seem to get her out of my mind."

Great, he wanted to talk about Tiffany.

" Well what have you been thinking?"

He looked up into her eyes.

" She's beautiful, even when she's working really hard, and when she bites her lower lip to conceal that she's angry, oh gosh.. It's like an invitation for me to kiss her! She's so sexy, she's.." he paused for a moment and buried his head in his hands again. " I love her."

Cindy couldn't believe what he had just said. It had been only one date and he all ready proclaimed himself to be in love? Her inner voice chirped in, last night must have been amazing,' it said. She rolled her eyes and played with her pencil. Then she reached out and just like in Starbucks, she gently placed her hand upon his.

" So a Brandy?"

He looked up into her eyes again.

" You read my mind."

" Okay, I'll be right back," she said as she scurried along. People were whispering crazily. She just smiled at them as she passed by. Finally a young blonde woman stopped her.

" Miss, is that Jimmy.."

But Cindy interrupted her by shaking her head yes.

" He looks so stressed."

She looked back to the man in the far corner, sure enough his head was buried in his hands again and he was muttering something to himself.

" He's in love," she said quietly.

" Oh! That is so cute! Who is the lucky lady?"

" Um, her name is Tiffany and she works here," she responded.

" What a lucky girl."

" Yeah, lucky," she said as she walked into the kitchen. " He's in love," she whispered to herself.

" Who is in love?"

Nick!

She snapped her head to face him.

" Oh! You! You evil man!" She shouted at him and threw a pad of paper at him, but he ducked it.

" Jimmy? Is Jimmy in love?"

" Yes," she responded curtly.

" And you don't care, right?"

" That's 100 right," she sighed. " Fine, I do care, I guess I like him a little.. But you won't say anything to Tiff right?"

" No, never," just then the bell rang, and Cindy figured it was Tiff signing in.

" Hey Tiff!" Cindy hid behind her fake smile.

" Hey," she replied curtly and it caught her off guard.

" What's wrong Tiff?"

" Oh nothing."

" Liar."

" Last night when I got home and I was hoping Jimmy would kiss me goodnight, he just said good night and left! It made me so angry.. Maybe I was wrong, maybe he doesn't like me as much as I thought he did."

For a moment a spark of divine hope lit up Cindy.

" Did he say he didn't like you?" She tried to sound concerned and not hopeful.

" No, but he didn't kiss me! And I thought I had led him on enough for him to catch on!" She wailed over and buried her head in her shoulder.

" Oh, there, there," Cindy said and patted her on the back.

" I think there's another woman," Tiffany sniffed. Cindy shook her head and she looked down to Tiffany.

" Right now Tiffany, he sitting in our Main Lobby, pondering the beauty of a girl, of someone he is in love with, as a friend of his I can tell you, he's never been very foreword about his feelings towards a girl, he just wasn't born with smarts in that area."

" Oh! Cindy do you mean it?"

" Yes! Almost instantly I knew he was talking about you," she replied. Tiffany wiped the tears from her eyes and she smiled.

" Thanks Cindy."

' Yep! Anytime," she said as she put some dishes in the dishwasher and then grabbed a Brandy.

She soon brought it back out to him.

" Cindy, how do I tell her?" He said as he took a drink of the Brandy.

"Well it depends if you want to be romantic or not."

" Of course I do, she deserves only the best."

" I agree, so I say take her some place really romantic in the city and then confess your love from there."

" Do you think she.."

She nodded her head yes.

" I am pretty sure she likes you Neutron, you devil you," she teased as he took another sip and shook his head.

" I sure hope so," his sentence trailed off. " She is the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld, she completes me Cindy, every moment from the first moment I first met her I've loved her so dearly. Her eyes have me captivated.." Again he let his sentence trail off. She tapped his skin lightly.

" It will be okay Jimmy, I promise."

He sniffled and wiped a falling tear from his beautiful blue eyes.

" Thanks Cindy," he said quietly.

" Yeah anytime," she said as she stood up and gave him a smile and he returned the favor. " I will always be here for you Jimmy Neutron." She said as she walked away into the kitchen. As soon as she was away from the prying eyes, she let a sigh escape her lips.

'I will always be waiting for you' she said to herself. She shook her head for a moment trying to get the thought out of her head. But this time, it would not leave. She sighed and tried again, but alas there he was. The blue eyes, the remembered taste of his kiss.. And with that she walked back into the Main Lobby.

--


	8. No Day But Today!

Okay, so I thought I was going one way with this story, but it completely rearranged itself in my head! Sorry I have been so busy lately!!! Forgive me!!

No own Jimmy! No own Rent!!!!

No Day But Today

Jimmy still sat in the corner of the room all alone. His eyes were blood red. Cindy looked at the clock, nearly seven. It was time for a break anyway.

"Hey, I am taking my break," she cried to Nick, he just nodded. She took a deep gulp, and walked out of the back room.

Soon she stood at Jimmy's table. His eyes scanning her with curiosity.

" May I join you?"

He nodded and wiped a tear from his eye and sniffled. He hadn't touched his alcohol. Odd for a man, but Jimmy was no ordinary man…

"Jimmy, what's wrong?"

" We've been through this!"

" I know, but I want to help!"

" You can't though!" He sighed heavily. She reached across the table, taking his hand in hers.

" I may not be able to, but I will try anyway. So if you like her this much, what do you plan to do about it?"

" Well, see that's the thing I don't know! You know I've never been very good with women Vortex. I'm just so afraid that something will go wrong! This feels so wrong."

" I know! And that's why I am here to help you!" she exclaimed. " I've got some pretty good ideas." He finally lifted his eyes from the table.

" Really?"

" Yes really, my first idea was that of a romantic night out in Central Park."

" Too overused," he bluntly stated.

"All right then, how bout you take her to a romantic deserted island and have dinner," his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. " We know how well that went for us, it was the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced." She blushed deeply, thankful that it was sort of dark.

He nodded.

"Your right Cindy! That's an amazing idea! What would I do without you?"

He smiled for the first time that night.

Silence fell over them for a few brief moments.

" Cind, I have missed you."

A flood of memories came back to her. She shut her eyes.

" I missed you too."

He smiled as he took her hand softly in his. The candlelight cast an amazing glow on his face. She couldn't stop looking into them. She could see her future in them. How it warmed her from head to toe.

He lifted her skin to his lips and kissed her hand softly.

" Cind, you are like the best friend I could ever have," he whispered.

She gulped, heart beating in her throat.

" Well, I try," she teased. "So, what are you going to say to your princess in waiting?"

" Well, that's another thing."

Cindy smiled.

" Well that's defiantly something I would do if I was you," she whispered. He gave her a questioning look.

" A kiss on the hand is something very personal, and I am sure that she will get a kick out of it." He nodded. " And then look her in the eyes, and say.

" I never met anyone like you, I think about you day and night, this may be too fast, and it may be awkward, but in you I have found something irreplaceable, I just want to spend time with you. And it is a surprise, you interested? Something a long those lines, and then Jimmy just wait till she gives her reply."

He smiled in approval.

" Let's hear you say it. Say my name so I can hear how it sounds…"

He gulped.

" Cindy, I've never met anyone like you," he paused perfectly, his eyes looked up intently into hers. " I think about you day and night, now perhaps you are not ready for this, but in you I have found something I can not live without. Your eyes are like heaven's light, sparkling with sweet innocence, please consent to come with me on a hover car ride this evening."

Cindy stared into his eyes. Her breath refused to come back to her.

He smiled.

" How was that?"

" That was beautiful Jimmy," she said quietly. " And to seal the deal you probably should kiss her, but I know your good at that."

" So I've improved?"

" For sure."

He smiled softly and squeezed her hand again. She had almost forgotten he held it. Tingles ran through her fingers, and warmth that she had forgotten entered into the corners of her brain. Only his touch could do that. She fought back the tears in her eyes. She could hear his amazing voice speaking those same words…. To Tiffany. He meant them for Tiffany, not her. She was taken, no, she was happily taken!

But every day that grew more and more doubtful. Perhaps there was more in her heart then she was allowing herself to see?

" Cindy!!! Your break was over ten minutes ago!" Nick called from the back room. Cindy woke from her trance. Jimmy smiled slyly.

" Whoops, I have kept you from working Cind, I suppose you better go," he said quietly.

Without a word, she nodded, taking his glass.

" Oh and Cindy?"

She turned to him.

He stood up. Took her and hand and gently placed his lips upon it.

She shook from head to toe, her knees felt weak beneath her. It was amazing and it was intoxicating. She held on to his hand for a few more seconds, her grip increased and she used this against him. Pulling him full force into her, into a hug. He was so warm, just like she remembered, he smelled so good. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. Her arms wrapped around his neck. His arms slipped around her waist.

" Jimmy, I hope that you will be so happy. You deserve it, hopefully we can talk again soon, about things that happened.."

" How about tonight? After you get off work?" He jumped quickly. She pulled away and looked into his eyes.

" That sounds lovely, Libby would be very pleased," she smiled and he nodded.

" I will see you later then?"

She smiled and nodded in response. With that he embraced her once again.

And all of a sudden his lips touched her cheek. Their warmth so familiar, so loving, so comforting, so warm, his breath was like sweet candy. She could feel tingles forming in the tips of her fingers; so intense it was almost painful. In response she inhaled deeply. Then he pulled his lips away from her cheek.

" See ya Cind."

She would never get sick of that…

As soon as he walked out the door she gasped for air in pleasure and sat down on the nearest bench. Knees shaking like crazy, her fingers were even shaking.

She sighed happily as she touched her hand softly to her cheek. And closed her eyes. If this what a simple kiss on the cheek could do, what could his kiss do? She pictured those blue eyes; those soft lips, that for a brief, splendid moment had touched her cheek. He still had a strong hold over her.. And judging by this experience, it was getting stronger every day.

" Just admit it Cindy, you still like him," she said quietly to herself. There was no denying it! She did still like him. She still freaking liked him!

" I'd say you more then like him," Nick chirped in. She snapped her head up from her daydreams.

She blushed a deep crimson, and tried to stand, but her knees failed her once again.

"Much more then like him, face it girl, you're falling in love."

" No! I am not! Not again!! I can't love him again! He broke my heart."

Nick was silent.

" Well we need ya back in the dish room Cindy, but you know, this might be your only chance. There is no day but today." He said in singsong.

Cindy nodded and headed to the backroom.

As she was washing dishes, she kept feeling his soft lips upon her cheek, the feel of his embrace. He was everywhere.. hours later, he was still in her head, beneath her skin.

She looked up from the mop and realized she wasn't hearing things. There he was, in the doorway, smiling smartly. She smiled weakly and brushed a bang from out of her face.

" Hey."

" You look so tired." He said sympathetically, and she looked up into his eyes, her eyes so heavy.

" Yes. I am."

" Well I am here to take you home, it's nearly 1 A.M., you need sleep."

" But I need to close up."

" You are done Cind, the floor is spotless.."

She looked down, sure enough she had cleaned the floor, and it was very shiny and smiled.

She sighed heavily.

" Home."

He started walking towards her and he faded in and out… He put her arms around her neck and lifted her off the floor, and then she blacked out.

A cool breeze flowed over her skin, and then a warm touch, it was a palm against her face.

" Cindy, we are here."

She reluctantly opened her eyes. Jimmy sat above her and he nodded. She groaned and closed her eyes. He then sat her up.

" Time to go to bed."

" No!" She whined.

She cuddled in his neck. She wanted to sleep here!

He softly kissed her forehead.

" Cind, you got to get back in."

" Oh just shut up and kiss me Neutron."

She looked up, closed her eyes.

No day but today.

Just then his lips touched hers. Softly, sweetly… Just then her body went limp. Like a thousand dead weights, and yet inside she awoke. Everything in her body was tingling happily… He softly kissed the side of her mouth causing her to gasp in pleasure.

" Cindy?"

That wasn't Jimmy's voice. That was Nick's…

" Cindy? Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes, to discover that she had fallen asleep on a bench in the break room. She didn't even remember taking her break.

He smiled at her.

" You fell asleep? And I heard you singing something in your sleep."

Cindy rubbed her eyes. She just shrugged…

He sighed heavily.

" You really should stop being so obvious!"

She blushed a dark crimson.

" Hey, I'm here to pick up Cindy.."

Jimmy appeared at the door. And Cindy could never be more happy to see him.


	9. Friend, the Cruel Word

Friend, the Cruel Word

Jimmy smiled kindly.

" I'm here to save you," he said softly, his blue eyes lit up. She sighed unwillingly. He had that affect on her.

She dropped what she was doing.

" Goodnight Nick," the words floated from her lips. And she took off her apron.

" First you and I are going out to get a little ice cream, I think we both need it," she noted that his eyes were streaked with red.

She nodded.

" I agree."

She got into the hover-limo. She had seen them before, but none like this one. There was a private mini-bar, a hot tub…. Oh, that sounded good right now, and on top of it all, there were strawberries dipped in chocolate with whipped cream!! Her ultimate favorite!

He reached into the refrigerator. Sure enough, he had ice cream stashed in here. He opened the sky window, which in a hover car, is on the bottom. She sighed this was so romantic. She had no idea where they were going, and she could care less. He dished her some ice cream and smiled. She ate it, enjoying every minute.

" So Cindy, about this Tiffany friend of yours," her insides churned.

" Yeah, what about her?"

" What sorts of things does she like?"

" Well, she's a model, and she loves antique jewelry, she's a bit of a book worm, and she has always dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but she just didn't get the grades to qualify, and she really hates to talk about it."

He laughed slightly.

" I would too."

She smiled at him as she placed her bowl on the side of the car. The city flew beneath them.

" You know, this has to be really weird for you, me showing up out of nowhere and asking questions about your friend.."

" Well, I know it's her that you've been talking about this whole time, so really it just makes sense.

He nodded.

" You're one smart cookie," just then Nora Jones started playing, it was one of Cindy's favorites, Love Me Tender.

Cindy looked at him confused, and Jimmy blushed.

" It helps me relax, so anyway, what else can you tell me about her?"

" Well, she is a romantic at heart, she loves old movies, and she's my second best friend in the world, outside of Libby."

" Ah yes, Libby."

He was directing the conversation away from Tiffany? Why?

" I heard from her the other day, she called and told me that she was worried that you might be falling in love with me.."

Cindy laughed, trying to hide her nervousness.

" Oh yeah. Right! I went through that once, I'd never do it again!"

Silence fell over them.

" Are you sure?" He asked quietly.

" Positive."

The music continued softly in the background.

" You have been acting sort of strange these past few days while I have been pursuing Tiffany, almost like you are, dare I say it, jealous." He smiled smartly, he was playing her, just like the old days.

" All right!! I admit it!" She gulped.. Jimmy just stared at her. She had to make up a lie, and fast! " I admit, that it has been very weird for me while you pursuing her. My old flame shows up, wanting my friend, it's a little weird, causing me to act weirder."

He nodded in agreement.

" I suppose that makes sense and I suppose I can let that be your explanation." He then pulled out sparkling water.

" You know me too well, but Mr. Neutron, aren't you forgetting something?"

He cocked his head curiously.

" You are forgetting that you have been acting sort of weird lately," she retorted.

" Well yes, but I have a reason, I told you, I've never felt this way about anyone before, just one smile makes me weak in the knees, it makes me woozy, it makes me savage.." He blushed deeply.

Cindy raised an eyebrow as she finished the last of her sparkling water.

" Hey, where exactly are we going?"

" I'm taking you home, but the long way around," sure enough they were over Central Park at the moment.

She rolled her eyes and lifted them up to his. He smiled sheepishly.

" Thanks for saving me tonight Neutron," just then the hover-limo stopped.

She smiled and started towards the door, but he softly grabbed her arm.

" Hey Cind, would you care to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

She raised an eyebrow.

" Just as friends of course."

She smiled and nodded.

" It sounds lovely, what time will you be picking me up?"

" How does seven sound?"

"Seven sounds perfect."

She stepped out of the car and quickly said goodnight and watched as his limo disappeared into the New York sky. And after he was safely out of sight, she let a sigh escape her lips. Would he ever love her, or would she always just be in the shadow of Tiffany? Would he take her to dinner and ask her questions about herself?

One lone tear fell down onto her cheek, but a smile still found its way onto her face. There was always tomorrow. She wiped the tear from her cheek, she wandered into the apartment, and there was Alex, waiting for her.

" Hello beautiful!"

" Hello Alex," she responded as she flung her purse onto the couch, and hung her jacket on the coat rack. He walked over and placed a little peck on her cheek.

" How was your day?" He kissed her ear softly.

" My day was good, boring, but good. I ran into Jimmy again, and he wants to take me to dinner tomorrow night."

Alex shot her a confused look.

" Just as friends, I guarantee you Alex," she said as she smiled. " He likes that red-haired girl I work with, Tiffany?" He smirked.

" Just tell him he better watch out, 'cause if he looks at you the wrong way, he shall feel the wrath of Alex Caldwin," he said as he made a fist in the air. Cindy giggled.

" I'll tell him," he kissed her neck softly.

" Good," he said softly.

She sighed, she wasn't sure if it was a sad sigh, or a happy sigh.

" Come to bed?"

She nodded.

" I'll be there in a few minutes."

--

The Next Morning

--

Jimmy's eyes danced in her mind, his soft touch, slid up her arm, giving her goose bumps, his breath tickled her ear.

" I love you," he kissed her ear sweetly.

She sighed in ecstasy and closed her eyes.

" I love you," she replied. " I always have and I always will," she responded. He smiled knowingly.

" I know," he looked into her eyes deeply. He placed one finger under her chin, and slowly started pulling her lips up to his…

" Cind? Are you alright?"

Just then she awoke to Alex looking at her with a smile and love filled eyes.

" You were talking in your sleep."

" What did I say?"

" You said I love you over and over again," he smiled brightly as he brushed lose bangs from her face, "I love you too Baby," he said softly as he kissed her forehead. " I really do."

"What time is it?" She asked.

" About seven o clock in the morning."

She sighed; it was time for her to think about getting up. She felt so disgusting, so it was off to the shower. Alex kissed her softly.

" Well honey, I'm already late, so I'm off," he said with a smile.

" Bye! Have a good day," she responded quietly.

Just then the phone rang.

" Hello?"

" Hey," she recognized Jimmy's voice.

" Hey Jimmy! What's up?"

" Oh nothing, just sitting here, about to go into a press conference, and I needed someone to help calm my nerves."

Cindy couldn't help but laugh.

" What? Jimmy Neutron is nervous? This is impossible!"

" I am going to make a suggestion that my heart is taken."

Cindy fell silent.

"What? You haven't even confessed your love to Tiffany yet, or apologized!"

" I didn't say that I was going to tell the world I love her, I just will say that I have prior interests, so I don't want to get anymore late night phone calls from random girls wanting to get with me!" He exclaimed.

" Oh, and what is so bad about that?"

" Well, it sort of takes away the 'bachelor' factor," he responded with a sigh.

" But it doesn't make you any less attractive!" Cindy argued as she wandered into the bathroom. She looked terrible! She picked up her favorite bright pink nail polish and began to paint her fingernails.

He sighed on the other end.

" I suppose so, hey Cind, do you have a cell phone you wouldn't mind me calling?"

" Yes! I have one, and I would love to give you the number, my number is 1-215-567-8986. It would be amazing if you would give me a ring, our talks the past few days have been very beneficial to me," she responded as she finished her middle finger.

" So how would you say what I want to say without being direct? And without losing my appearance until I make the announcement of her being mine!"

" Simple, just say that you are still available, but that you might have a possible interest in someone, but you are not sure where it will go, it's much less broad and people might actually be more attracted by the fact that you are nervous," she responded.

" Oh Cind! You are brilliant, I wish I could think like you do!"

" Hey, I've got experience, I'm a New Yorker after all!"

He nodded.

" I agree, well I'm off to my press conference, you should watch it Cind, and that way you can tell me how I do."

" Well, I suppose I can do that for you!"

" Thank you Cind, you are a wonderful friend. Bye! See you tonight!"

Friend, Jimmy Neutron had called her a friend once again… It was so sweet to hear him call her that. There past no longer mattered, she was a friend.. and a friend ONLY.

She sighed as she finished her right hand. His friend, that's all she would ever be.


	10. Unfaithful

No own Jimmy!! No own Rhianna:) 3 Kte

Unfaithful 

Of course Jimmy's press conference had gone very well indeed. He impressed his interviewers, they were very curious as to who this mystery girl in his life was, but he refused to disclose Tiffany's identity.

He looked great, that was for sure. His hair perfect as usual, his blue eyes shining, in black pants and a blue shirt that really brought them out… She sighed as she turned off the T.V.

She brushed her hair quickly and threw it up into a ponytail and got dressed and was ready for work.

The day was just like any other. No Jimmy mysteriously showed up in the Parlor, but se knew that if she was completely honest with herself, she wanted him to. The day passed slowly, like a turtle. It was impossible to describe it any other way. 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, the hours seemed more like years. She played nervously with a lose hair. Couldn't seven come any faster then this??

Tiffany smiled.

" Got a date with Alex tonight?"

" Uhm, yeah, sure!" She lied through her teeth.

" I wonder if he'll purpose! Word on the street is that he's thinking about it! Just think Cinds, you'll be one of the richest women in the world!" She squealed.

Cindy smiled.

" Yeah."

Just then Nick walked in the back, he had a smirk on his face.

" Your really nervous for just going on a date with good ol' Alex," he smiled, as if he knew. Maybe he did know? They were just going as friends, so what was the big deal? Why was she lying? Why did she feel like she had to? Why did she feel like she was being unfaithful?

" I am!" She responded with a well-placed chirp in her voice, she was defiantly a trained actress.

" Well, here are some dishes for you to do my dear, and while you are off thinking about your handsome prince, just remember, you have a choice, you have a life, do what you feel is right," and with that he disappeared out the front door. Nick knew her way too well; he was too gay for his own good.

" What was that about?"

" I have no idea!" She said, and Tiffany just shrugged her shoulders.

And then she looked into the dishwater; Jimmy's bright blue eyes stared back at her. She closed her eyes and she could feel his touch lightly upon her arm, and hear his voice. She stared down into them. Maybe tonight really was more then she was letting herself believe it was, perhaps tonight was really a date…

She had a date with Jimmy Neutron! It was almost too good to be true! But it was, it really was. She smiled to herself because it was, it was reality, and it wasn't just a dream, because tonight at seven p.m. she would be out with Jimmy Neutron, **in public**.

In public!

At this realization she dropped a plate, and it came crashing down on the floor.

She hadn't thought of this before! It would ruin everything! Alex would break up with her, Tiffany would never speak to her again, Libby would catch on, the whole thing would be ruined, and her love for her ex-boyfriend would be revealed to the world.

She gulped nervously. And not only that, but going on a date with another man, meant being unfaithful to her man. No wonder she felt so dirty about this whole business. She sighed deeply. A choice had to be made this night. A life changing decision, she stared into the dishwater image of Jimmy, his blue eyes sparkled. She had too much; she couldn't give up, for this dream, this apparition.

And with no more of a second thought, she made her decision.

She called Jimmy's cell phone.

" Hello?"

" Hello.. Jimmy this is Cindy, and I have some bad news for you," she said quietly.

" Yes?" His voice sounded so sad… she just couldn't do it she just couldn't do it!

" I'm excited for tonight," was all that she could say.

" I am too Cindy, I am too, but I am really busy right now, so I will see you tonight, okay?"

" Okay," she responded.

She had the right motives and all, but she just couldn't do it! She just couldn't let down her friend like that! That was it, she wasn't being unfaithful, and her mind was just getting carried away. She was just being a good friend, giving the best advice that she knew how. She looked down at her painted nails. Then why on earth did she want to try so hard to catch his attention again?

It was war between logic, and her heart.

This war made the time go a lot faster. Soon six rolled around, and it was time for her to go home.

" Good luck tonight, it will change your life I am sure!" Tiffany called.

Little did they both know how right she was.

When Cindy got home she took a quick shower, losing her problems down the drain. Her sweetest shampoo went in her hair, and she shaved her legs, to perfect, smooth perfection. She then dried off, slipped on the robe from Alex and walked to their closet. She opened the closet and hidden in the back behind everything else, was a dress that she hadn't worn in ages. The dress she had worn on her first date with Alex. She sighed deeply, it was just crying to be worn and she was going to obey. She pulled the plastic cover off of it and laid it down on the bed. Staring at it.

It was a black off the shoulder dress, with a hot pink sash in the middle. And a thin piece of hot pink ribbon decorating the hem and neckline, it was one of her favorite dresses on the face of the planet. She pulled out her black high heels…

First she plugged in her straightener as she blow-dried her hair quickly. Then she put on the dress and plugged in her curling iron. As it warmed up she did her make-up carefully. Spending time on each detail and how each color would blend with another. Then she carefully spiral curled her hair, and pulled half of it up into a clip at the top of her head. Leaving only a few strands of perfectly curled hair near her eyes. She placed on her black necklace with a pink heart at the end, and the matching earrings. She walked to the door and grabbed her white coat. Her heels clicked along the floor. It was exactly six fifty. She walked back into her room, and grabbed her favorite scent, in the travel sized bottle, sprayed herself and then placed it in her purse along with her favorite lipstick and lip gloss. She then stopped in front of a mirror, and she had to stop and stare.

It was the best she had looked in ages. She looked; dare she say it, beautiful? She looked like a princess, and more then that, she felt like one. Just then there was a knock at the door. Jimmy stood there in a tux, with not a hair out of place, looking more handsome then ever. He smiled as he took out a single rose.

" You look stunning," he said as he took her hand and kissed it softly.

" Thank you Neutron, you look pretty good yourself," she responded as she took the rose and put it in a vase.

" Ready?"

" Yes, sir I believe I am," she said as she took his arm bravely and walked with him out the door.

They drove over the skyline, to the sky roof of Jimmy's hotel. It was beautiful!

Set up with white roses with pink tips, and pink roses, and in the center of the table set for two, were a dozen of the most beautiful whit roses she had ever seen, and even in the center of those, was one single red rose. It was a breathtaking sight. Soft lights decorated the garden like surroundings, and a violin softly played. He stepped out of the hover car and she put down her jacket and soon followed.

" Jimmy, this is, amazing!"

He pulled out her chair for her and she sat down. She stared at her surroundings, trying to suck it all in. Candlelight danced upon their faces. She breathed a sigh.

" Thanks," he blushed. " I hoped you would like it."

" Like it? I love it!" She responded. " So what is on the menu tonight?"

" Only the best Fettuccini Alfredo that I could find in NY!"

Cindy smiled and sighed. There was sparkling grape juice too. It was amazing, and of course, strawberries and chocolate.

" Oh Jimmy, I feel so spoiled!"

They talked and laughed about memories, about future plans, about the fights that they had, which meant nothing now, and things that they hoped would happen in the next few days. Finally they had both finished eating.

" So, Jimmy, when do you plan to tell your girlfriend that you love her?"

" When the time is right, just like you suggested."

" Hopefully that goes well, but if you aren't careful, she will lose her patience because I know Tiffany," just then he held up a finger to her lips softly.

" Would you like to dance with me?"

Who could resist that face? She took his hand with a smile of warm acceptance.

The music started softly, and slowly. Just the violin by itself playing Love Me Tender, it was twice in two days!! He took her by the waist, and she buried her face in his shoulder. Inhaling his scent, losing bit by bit of her sense in it. Tonight, Alex did not exist, or so she would try to convince herself. Around the top of the roof they danced.

At the end of the song, she looked up into those mysterious blue eyes and instantly her stomach filled with butterflies…

" Cindy," in one word, all of her last defenses melted away.

" Yes?"

" Can I kiss you?"

The question caught her off guard. Her breath seemed to leave her body. Her mind went blank. All she could hear was can I kiss you? She nodded, numb to every argument that her body was screaming. She knew in that moment, he could steal her heart.

He smiled and placed one finger under her chin. Cindy's heart was going so fast that she could barely see straight, she could hear it in her ears like a bass drum. He softly touched her cheek, and bit his lower lip. She just looked up into his eyes as he pulled her lips slowly towards his, and then, his soft lips ever so lightly touched hers. So lightly that she could barely feel it, electricity shot through her every limb, like a sweet lightning bolt. The breath left her lungs.

He pulled away, but his taste lingered wonderfully on her lips. She opened her eyes; his face was so content, so happy. There was a deep, loving, sparkle in his eyes. In that moment, She loved him; she loved him with everything that she had! He held her heart safely in his palm.

Just then, without thinking, she pulled his lips forcefully back into hers passionately, and that's when everything began to go hazy…

But just then she stopped. He stared at her confused.

One tear fell down from her eye. What was she thinking?

" Jimmy, I'm sorry, but this is wrong! I have a boyfriend and you will soon have a finance!"

He sighed and nodded.

" I agree, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for it to go that far," he responded quietly.

Tears fell down her cheeks in a steady stream as she sat down on a chair.

She loved him! She really loved him!!! She really loved this stupid genius in front of her, with the eyes like sapphires, and the brain of Einstein. She did with everything inside of her. She had never been over him, and she had been stupid to think so. She closed her eyes, his lips were so amazing, like lips of an angel!

" Dang Vortex you kiss good," he said with a smile. And all she could do was smile back.

" Same to you Neutron, Tiffany is so very lucky," she said as she took the barrette out of her hair, causing her hair to fall down upon her shoulders. Jimmy's eyes stared at her, and she just smiled.

" Yes?"

" You look so beautiful," he responded, as though transfixed.

" Oh, thank you," she said, as a blush crept upon her cheeks.

" Want something to drink?"

" Water please," she responded. The air outside was so cool and refreshing, it felt so nice on her skin. She took a deep breath as he placed the glass of water in front of her. It was so cold and so tasty. She sighed in happiness. She felt so dirty for cheating on her boyfriend, but at the same time, it was the most wonderful kiss she had ever had. Neutron was defiantly a worthy man to be kissing that way He was sweet, and she had just been caught up in the moment, and more then all else, she loved him.

" What are you thinking Cind?"

She blushed.

" About tonight," she responded honestly.

He nodded.

" I could tell, I am really sorry, if Alex asks, just tell him it was my fault, I was drunk or something like that…"

" But you weren't! It takes two to tango!" Tears fell down from her eyes. If only he could see what was inside her heart he would understand why this was so hard for her. In this one night, she had realized something she had always known, but just denied. Something that had been in her mind as a question, but now was a fact, and she was becoming amazed at how much of a fact it was. She was in love, but not with the man who might purpose in a few days, with this man that was sitting there, staring at her, holding a Kleenex in his hand.

" Here, wipe your eyes.." he sweetly said as he dried her tears. Then he softly kissed her cheek. " There is nothing to worry about my sweet Cindy, he will understand," he whispered. " If he really loves you, he will understand and forgive you," he looked her directly in the eye. "He will," he responded.

" Your right, he will," she said quietly.

She smiled lightly. It was now nearly eleven. The eleven o clock news would be on soon.

" I should get home," she responded as she dabbed her eyes.

"Anything else you want?" he asked as he touched her hand lightly.

" Yeah, some hot chocolate with whipped cream always makes me feel better!" She said with a happy chirp in her voice.

"One hot cocoa with whipped cream coming right up!"

She smiled and made herself comfortable in the chair.

He started to warm up the water.

" Here, why don't you do me a favor and turn on the news?" He asked as he handed her the remote.

" Oh, sure," she responded.

She turned on the huge T.V. and there was the newscaster, Anne Landon.

" Welcome New York to News Night! This is Anne Landon reporting. Tonight's top story, Jimmy Neutron confesses that he might have his eye on someone," Cindy rolled her eyes. Just then Anne's face went wide. " Just a minute folks! It seems as though we have a new update on this story," she said loudly. " Now it's to you Jake," a red haired, well built man appeared on the screen. He was standing in the New York night.

" Well Anne, it seems as though that Jimmy has more then just his eyes on a local girl, tonight he was seen going with a certain Cindy Vortex to his local suite," then there appeared a large photo of Cindy. Cindy stopped breathing. " I have some footage that is to die for! And New York will be the first to see it."

Jimmy had now started to watch.

Sure enough, there they were, dancing on their roof, Cindy felt like she was going to puke. She could almost smell his cologne again, feel his intoxicating touch.. She closed her eyes for a minute. Just then she opened and it showed Jimmy touching her chin lightly. She could feel it, she could! And then it showed their lips slowly meet, in a sweet kiss. She could feel his sweet touch, and in that moment she was on Saturn, how she had felt like she was flying. The video was stopped there.

" It certainly appears as though Jimmy Neutron has picked a mate, and Cindy Vortex, wherever you are, you are one lucky girl," he said with a smile, and now back to you Anne.

" Yes, one lucky girl has finally caught the attention of Jimmy Neutron, it is the same blonde girl that we saw with him at the beginning of the week, you are so lucky!" Uh-oh! And what is this? It certainly seems to me that this Cindy Vortex is the Cindy Vortex that is Alex Caldwin's live in girlfriend! Oh this is a juicy web we have here people! Cindy Vortex has now tangled with the richest man in the world, and one who is not far behind. What a lucky girl she is…" Tears were falling down Anne's face, " And now to the weather."

" Oh my gosh," and just then the water started to boil. It was the sound of her life, falling, crashing and breaking into a million little pieces.


	11. A Brilliant Idea

No own Jimmy. :) Love you all!!! Kte

A Brilliant Idea

She stared at the screen.

Jimmy hung his head in his hands.

" What have we done?"

She burst into tears, burying her head in her arms on the table.

" What have I done?"

" Cindy, it wasn't your fault!"

"But Alex will think it was!"

Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed as Cindy cried softly into her hands.

" Alex will break up with me!"

He sighed as he touched her shoulder lightly.

" We need to get you home," he said softly.

" Yes, that is the best thing," she said as she took one sip of her hot chocolate. And they left the suite together, that picture on the screen haunting her mind…

They soon landed on Alex's roof.

" Good night Cindy, I am sorry," he said quietly.

" Don't be," she responded.

He started up the hover limo.

" Goodnight," she said as he disappeared into the sky. " It's too bad you can't understand why I am crying," another tear fell down and crashed onto the roof beneath her. She walked, with her head low into the apartment. Alex was sitting there, red eyes streaked with tears.

" Hello," she said as she hung her jacket on the hanger.

No response. He wouldn't even look at her; he was just sitting there, staring at a black T.V. screen.

He then looked at her, with fury, with rage.

" You!" "You dirty piece of filth! You lied to me you slut!" He screamed. " YOU LIED TO ME!" " All of this time you told me that you loved me, all along it's been him! It's been him!"

Tears fell down her cheeks.

" Alex! It was a mistake! We just got wrapped up in the moment!"

" No! This was no mistake, this was years of waiting, and this was years of wanting, in a moment! After all, who cares about your boyfriend! I bet it was an amazing kiss, like nothing you've ever experienced before, since it's been him you've been in love with… You know, I am surprised I didn't figure it out before!"

Silence fell between them.

" Just answer me one thing, did you sleep with him?"

Cindy was just crying so hard so could barely breathe.

" CINDY, DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM!?" He screamed.

" No," she responded with what strength she had left.

He sighed heavily. " How do I know your not lying?"

She fell to her knees at his feet.

" Alex! Please! Forgive me! I didn't mean it!"

" Cindy, you and me were never meant to be! Get out of my house!" He screamed.

" Alex! Please NO! I didn't sleep with him! It was a mistake! Please!"

He then grabbed her vase with her beautiful red rose.

" A red rose, so beautiful, a sign of love, he can have you Cindy, you mean nothing to me anymore, nothing!" he screamed and then with a force, he threw it onto the ground. Causing it to shatter into a million pieces. " Now get out of my sight."

She shuddered in fear. It was the first time Alex had been this angry. Sure, they had arguments, but never had he been this furious. And yet, she could understand. She picked herself up and saw her suitcase on the counter, packed and ready to go. "Be gone in ten minutes Cind, I mean it," And with that, he disappeared into his room.

She took her suitcase, left her key, grabbed her coat and left the apartment.

"Goodbye Alex," she said quietly and she shut the door. There was only one place she could go. She took her cell out of her purse and searched her contacts, and found Jimmy, and pressed DIAL.

She sat down in the hallway.

" Hello? Cindy?"

" He.. He didn't forgive me Jimmy! He kicked me out! I have no place to go!" She bawled.

" There, there Cindy. I'll be over soon to pick you up."

Sure enough, he was on the roof in less then a minute. She walked out to the sky roof. Jimmy stepped out of his hover car and he had a very serious look on his face.

" Oh Jimmy!" She wailed as she hugged him closely. Tears fell upon his jacket. She probably looked like a mess!

" Come on Cind, let's get you back to my apartment," he took her hand and led her to the hover car. They flew over the city, but Cindy was so tired, and so numb. Tears fell like heavy silver droplets from her eyes on to the empty streets beneath them. He touched her softly.

" Cindy, come on," he encouraged her softly, and reluctantly she followed him. Her body was so limp, she could barely move. The numbness was like a poison that was eating every muscle in her body. All she could think about was his face; his eyes showed his heart breaking.

" I broke his heart, my life is about to get very interesting, I will lose Tiffany's friendship, I have lost my boyfriend," she whispered in pain.

Jimmy brushed a bang behind her ear and softly kissed her forehead.

" Come on, you need to sleep Cindy," he said as he picked her up into his arms. She clutched onto him tightly.

" I can't sleep! I can't! Not after what I have done Jimmy! I have cheated on my boyfriend and broken his heart!"

"Cindy, it was a mistake, don't hold yourself accountable, just rest now," he said as he placed her upon his bed. She took notice that all the sheets were pulled back, and he tucked her in.

" But where will you sleep?"

" There's a hide-a-bed over by the T.V. there," he responded. " Now just close your eyes and sleep."

" But what about my dress?"

" Easily pressed by my maids, trust me there is nothing to worry about, I will take care of everything."

He kissed her forehead once again.

" Tonight you will think about nothing other then sleeping."

His words began to work their magic, and she felt tiredness creeping into her body.

" I broke his heart…"

And then her eyes finally closed and she drifted into a wonderful sleep.

--

Light danced across her eyelids softly. She opened her eyes, to discover that the bedroom door was wide open to the sky roof. She stretched and yawned her eyes were so disgusting. She looked at the time. 12:00.. It was noon!!! Her eyes opened wide! CRAP! She was really late for work!!! She scrambled out of Jimmy's bed, (which she had to add, was the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in) and ran to her suitcase. Scrambling she found her work clothes and her shampoo. Jimmy appeared in the doorway. She froze, he looked so amazing, black pants and a blue shirt with a black tie, his hair perfect as usual.

" Good morning Cindy, how did you sleep?"

" Wonderfully! But right now I am like three hours late for work!"

" Cindy, I called and told them that you were ill today," Cindy froze.

" You did what? That will just build suspicions against us Jimmy!"

" But that was the point," he smiled, and Cindy froze, shooting him a very confused look. He just rolled his eyes. " After you went to bed last night, I thought of an idea that will help you get your life back," he said with a smirk.

" I'm listening."

" Simple, we'll give the media what they want, today I will announce that you and I are dating," she shot him a confused look. " We'll pretend to be dating until Friday, at which point I am going to the Mayor's Banquet, at which I will break up with you, since everyone important will be there, including Alex, and every pressman in the city of New York. Then afterwards I will say that it was just a fling, old passions trying to re-ignite, and it failed, and that you were still in love with Alex, and I didn't stand a chance."

Cindy smiled. It was perfect.

" Oh Jimmy! It's perfect! But it will ruin your reputation!"

" Ah, who cares?"

" Oh Jimmy!" She squealed happily and hugged him tightly. He chuckled.

" Your welcome." And in response she kissed his cheek softly.

" And now you should go back to bed, today is your day off, enjoy it!'

She nodded and sighed.

" Jimmy you have saved my life!" She said happily.

" Well, I'm off, I've got a press conference to attend," he assured her.

She smiled and nodded.

" You should watch it, girlfriend," he shot her a wink and she nodded again.

That term was like honey to her ears, and she could defiantly get used to it.

She turned on the T.V. and began watching what the news channel was. Regular programming? Was he not going to do a press conference? Had he been lying to her?

" And now ladies and gentlemen we interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin."

Wow, this was big stuff! If they were willing to interrupt programming! Cindy gulped nervously.

" Hello Jimmy," Anne said with a sad tone in her voice.

" Hello Anne, hello New York city, last night there was a news report spreading a rumor that I have now set my eyes on the local girl named Cindy Vortex," she could see that he was nervous. Of course he was! He was about to lie on national television, all just so they could save her skin! Well, the only two people in the world who knew he was lying was her and Jimmy. She smiled he looked so good! " The rumor is true, we are now happily dating," he said with a giddy smile that looked almost real! She giggled, that was her boyfriend! Well, her fake boyfriend! She couldn't help but laugh at the silliness of it all.

Anne's mouth had dropped open fury was showing in her eyes.

" Oh, really?"

He nodded, beaming, like a happy boyfriend would be.

" Yes really!"

Anne squished her mouth in an aggravated fashion. She smiled.

" Well, you heard it here first! Jimmy Neutron has got a girlfriend!"

Then the newscast stopped and flashed back into the normal programming. Cindy relaxed on the couch and took a sip of some orange juice.

Just then, her cell phone started to ring like crazy and not only that, she knew that ring tone, it was Libby.

She answered, preparing herself for the speech of a lifetime.

" It's about TIME!" She yelped happily.

The statement got her off guard.

" I was so right wasn't I? You've been in love with him this whole time!"

She sighed.

" Man, news gets around fast.."

" Hon, you are now the number one enemy for over 80 percent of the single women in this country, teenagers and middle age alike, but seriously Cind! How did it happen?"

She sighed, she had to think of a lie and fast. Could she really lie to her best friend? No, she couldn't.

" As long as you promise upon your mothers grave that not a word will be uttered."

" I swear on everyone who ever died that not a word will be uttered!"

" We aren't really dating, last night he kissed me on top of the rooftop, and it was a mistake and we weren't going to tell anyone about it! And then there was a news bulletin about us, and I knew that if I didn't do something about it, we were both going to be in trouble… but Jimmy just told me to go home, and so I did. When I got back to the apartment, Alex was furious, he had seen the news bulletin of course, and he broke up with me, and banished me from his house, and I called Jimmy, heartbroken. He came to the apartment and picked me up. Then he let me sleep in his bed, since I have no place else to go, and then this morning he came to me with this cockamamie idea, that we would pretend to go out until Friday at which point he would break up with me at the Mayor's Banquet, where Alex will be, and he will say something about the fact that I still loved Alex and not him and that he stands no chance etcetera. It's really a wonderful plan, but till then I am staying with him, making press conferences with him," she stopped. She hadn't thought about that. She was now the most famous girl in the city. Her adventures were just beginning.

Libby sighed.

" Oh Cindy, here I thought you had finally come to your senses, both you and I know that you don't really love Alex, you just don't want to break his heart, both you and I know that you are in love with Jimmy! I saw that footage girl!"

" So?"

" That was no ordinary kiss, that was the kiss of all kisses, it made me envious! It was the kiss of true love," she said softly. " You are in love with him Cindy, just admit it and move on! Tell him! Or you will lose him!"

" No! I don't! I love Alex!"

" How can you still be in denial? Think about it Cindy, who do you dream about at night? Whose kiss do you feel as you are standing, staring out at the stars, whose touch do you feel? Whose eyes do you see in your head?"

Cindy had stopped breathing; she knew very well, the answer to all those questions was Jimmy. She had realized that she loved him last night, but no one could ever know but her, and her mind.

" Libs, I promise you, I am not in love with Jimmy! Tiffany is!"

She sighed on the other end.

" If you say so Cindy, if you say so, but Cinds, you have to at least let him know how you feel, or you will lose the love of your life, but I have to go to work now, I'll talk to you later."

Cindy hung up the phone. Of course she knew that Libby was right, but she would never ever let anyone know the truth. Not even Jimmy, this was her life, this was her life, and it could never be a fairy tale. She knew that Jimmy didn't love her, and it would be a waste of her time, another broken heart.. She just wouldn't risk it, she would go with his plan till Friday, but then she would be out of his life once again and be engaged.

Just then Jimmy waltzed through the door, giddy like she had never seen.


	12. Those Eyes

No Own Jimmy.

Well, thank you for the reviews!! I appreciate them so much! They are so encouraging! Much love to you all!!! Enjoy this next chapter! Kte

Those Eyes

How could he be so happy? Her life and his had just fallen apart at the seams. She glared at him.

" What are you so happy about?" She asked as she finished off her orange juice. He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. Her eyes shot open in surprise.

" It was perfect Cindy! They ate up every word!"

" I know! I was watching!"

He hummed happily as he began to untie the tie around his neck.

" They believed it! My plan is set in motion! Your first press conference with me will be tomorrow night at six o clock, and you can wear what ever, I'm sure you will look amazing, and then we will have to go dress shopping for you for the Mayor's Banquet."

He laughed happily as he tucked his tie into the closet.

" Seriously, are you on some sort of drug? If you are, I claim some!"

He just rolled his eyes.

" It felt good to see Anne's face, to know that I might actually get a break from all these insane girls chasing me around! You don't know how sick of that I am! Thank you Cindy, I really owe you so much."

" I don't know if you owe me anything, I got you into this mess, and I can't really get you back out."

" Oh Cindy, if you only understood, these next few days, I won't have to worry about a thing, just enjoying my time with an old friend! Like tonight for instance, I don't have to go out with the Mayor again! I've got a girlfriend I can spend time with!"

" Have you really been with the Mayor every single night?"

" Every night save for last," he responded.

Cindy's mouth dropped open.

" Oh my word, you haven't even experienced New York then have you?"

" Not really," he hung his head.

" Oh my word, tonight, we hit the town!"

He blushed.

" But people will see!"

" Who cares? I'll go wash up and we'll head downtown!" She cried happily.

Downtown was exactly what she needed! He just stared at her wide-eyed. She raced to the bathroom and took a quick shower, put on some cute jeans and a cute top, and straightened her hair, did her make up in a flash and was ready to go.

She stepped out of the bathroom and sprayed herself with a bit of perfume and she was ready to go. He flashed her a smile.

"You look," he paused. " You look nice."

" Well, thank you kind sir, are you ready to head uptown?" She noted that he had changed into a light blue shirt and dark blue jeans. He looked pretty much amazing.

" Yep, let's go hit the city!" He replied.

They went outside to pick up the hover-car and they were off. She could barely wait! The first shop they would hit was her favorite book store/ coffee shop, she was sure that Jimmy would get a kick out of it.

" First stop?"

She pointed to a small little store just down the street.

The day passed, in and out of stores they went. Gucci, Armani, she felt so spoiled. Of course she was not a fool, she didn't actually buy anything, unless she could pay for it. She just adored looking. As she was walking by a store window called Les Château, there was the most stunning dress she had ever laid her eyes on.

It was a white floor length strapless gown; the bodice was studded with sequences. Across the middle was a thin silver ribbon. The bottom half was all white, with a V going up the middle to reveal silver metallic fabric, and the hem was sewn with what looked like diamonds! It was a dress fit for a queen. She stopped and stared at it.

" Oh my word, look at this beautiful dress! It must cost a fortune!"

He nodded.

"Do you want to go in and try it on Cindy?"

Cindy stopped breathing. He couldn't be serious.

" You can't be serious!" She peered through the window at this dress fir for only the richest queen.

" I am."

" It's got to be worth more then I could ever pay you back for!"

" Just go in and see," he responded.

She took a deep breath and walked in. The clerks stared at her like she was insane, but soon Jimmy followed and they just went back to working. Not even a word was spoken. She then found a clerk.

" Excuse me, but I would like to try on this dress," she said quietly while she pointed to the dress on display. Poor Jimmy was just wandering around like a lost puppy in the store.

" All right," the lady said with a smile. Who could refuse the girlfriend of Jimmy Neutron? She took a dress out from the back, wrapped in a silver dress bag.

" Your size dear," she had taken one look at Cindy and was able to guess her dress size? Impressive! Cindy took the dress and followed the lady into a nearby dressing room. She closed the door behind her. And Cindy stared at the bag hanging on the back of the door. Could this be for real? She unzipped the zipper carefully. The dress on the display now hung in front of her. The breath left her; she could barely concentrate as she slid it off the hanger. She slipped it up over her head, and she took a deep breath as she slipped the dress the rest of the way on. She zipped the zipper, it was a perfect fit, almost instantly she felt a transformation. She felt beautiful!

She took a deep breath and turned around to face the mirror. She ran her hands over the beautiful fabric. It was so beautiful! She got lost in its beauty. She felt like Cinderella.

" Oh my word," she said softly.

" Are you alright Cindy?" Jimmy called.

" Yes! Do you want to see?" She called back.

" Yeah, sure," he said.

She opened the changing room door slowly. She poked her head around the corner.

" Well are you going to show me?" He asked with a joking smile on his face. She blushed intensely. " Don't laugh," she said as she stepped out from behind the door.

Jimmy's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. He was trying to say something, but he couldn't manage it for some reason.

She walked over to him.

" How do I look?"

He just looked into her eyes, as though trying to read her thoughts. He looked, mystified.

" Cindy, you look.. you look.." He couldn't muster the words.

" You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!" The clerk squealed. " Twirl for me won't you?" She did as she was told and did a little spin. The hem spun like a ring around her ankles, glittering in the daylight. Jimmy's eyes still had not left her.

" Gorgeous." Was the only word that he could say, his eyes met hers softly.

" You look gorgeous Cindy, you look perfect, what else can I say?" He took her hands gently. Wow, he was really good at acting in love with her! He had obviously been practicing. He caressed her hands and softly kissed her right one.

" Thank you Jimmy, I feel so beautiful! I feel like Cinderella!" She said quietly as she smiled. Her insides melted slowly. She started to head back to the changing room and the curtain swooshed behind her.

She stopped and rested her head against the wall. She couldn't give into him! She had to make herself believe this was all for Alex, even though she knew it wasn't, she had to make him believe that this was all for Alex, she couldn't show that she was in love with him, and yet, oh how she wanted to. Oh how she wanted to scream it from the rooftops, but it was confined to inside of her. She took off the dress and got dressed into her street clothes again and carefully zipped the dress back up in its bag.

She walked out from the back and gave the dress to the clerk.

" Thank you," she said as she joined Jimmy.

" Have a good day Miss Cindy," she replied. Cindy felt like a regular celebrity. And it was only just beginning! It was amazing how much like a princess she was being treated. They walked out on to the New York streets once again.

" That dress looked so amazing on you," he said so softly that she could barely hear what he said.

" Well, thank you!" She replied.

They walked together along the streets. News reporters following them, people snapping pictures, it was starting to become a little annoying.

" How on earth do you stand all this publicity?"

" Simple! I just pretend it's not there," he responded. " But this time, we will use the publicity to our advantage," he said quietly. She threw him a questioning look.

" And how will we do that?"

" Simple, by showing simple signs of affection, like," he took a hold of her hand. " Holding hands," he said softly. Cindy could feel her skin burning pleasantly at his touch. It was intoxicating, indescribable, amazing or any word that could describe amazing. She felt like she was walking in a dream, with only Jimmy near. She looked down at their hands, just then his fingers slid between hers. She stared at their interlocked fingers. All she could do was stare…

She giggled nervously.

" Are you sure this will work?"

" Positive," he responded with a nod and a kiss to her forehead. She could really get used to this. " Just trust me," he said quietly. She smiled softly and looked up into his eyes. They were so mysterious, so forbidden. And they continued on..

But all she could think about were those eyes…


	13. Dangerous Game

So, I don't know how many of you have ever read any of my old stories, but I am thinking of making changes to them. (Love is More Than This, The Hardest Choice) What does everyone think? Tell me in your review if you do review. Thank you!!! I love you all! Enjoy!

No own Jimmy.

Dangerous Game

They had so much fun that afternoon! Walking the streets of New York and eating hot dogs.

" This is so amazing Cindy!!!" Just then, he saw swings in the corner of his eye. He grabbed her hand and took her to the swings, and like children they swung, bumping into each other. After they had enough of acting like children, they sat on a park bench and just talked.

" So Libby called you last night?"

" Yeah! She was all concerned about me, so I told her the truth Jimmy, I had to," she said with a slight sadness in her voice.

" Well let's just hope she doesn't say anything to Sheen," he said but he smiled. " I'm not mad, I promise," he assured her.

Silence.

" Jimmy what exactly is your worst fear now days?" It was kind of a deep question, but she had to do something to break the silence.

" Well, I think that would have to be just the fear of living alone for the rest of my life, and never discovering true love," was this seriously his worst fear? Not running out of money, or being poor, or being a failure, or one of his experiments failing, no, but being alone, not being loved was his worst fear.

Was this guy for real? She had given up a great treasure by letting Jimmy go that August night so many years ago.

" Wow," she said as she and then shoved down the last bite of her hot dog.

" And you?"

" There is one man that I love with all of my heart, and I'm afraid he can never love me," the words just left her lips, she sat stunned at her confession.

Jimmy smirked.

" Alex loves you Cindy! You know he does. Yes, you hurt him, but after all this is over it won't even matter!" He chirped happily.

She sighed he still didn't know** he **was the one she was talking about!

He put his arm around her. She looked at him and he touched her lips with a finger.

" News reporters," he said quietly. He put his lips on the corner of her mouth softly, her lips quivered. Oh how dangerously close he was to kissing her lips! She sighed in reaction.

" Cindy! That was perfect!" he whispered.

That night, after they had been out shopping all afternoon they had made the news.

" Today Jimmy and his new girlfriend were spotted snuggling on a bench near Central Park," she announced. Cindy laughed at the silliness of it all. But she loved every minute of it.

" How stupid is that, they are seriously falling for it!"

He laughed.

" I know, it's classic," he said as he grabbed some ice cream and began to nibble on it.

The stars were beautiful tonight, and all Cindy could think about was going out under them and slow dancing. His eyes met hers, and Cindy felt feelings creeping up inside her. These old feelings, she knew what they were. She didn't even try to fight them, and she slid her hand over his softly. He softly smiled.

She had to think of something and fast.

" I will never be able to thank you enough for this Jimmy, it means so much to me, it means so much to me," she repeated softly.

" Your welcome Cindy," he replied.

Cindy wandered out onto the sky roof. The air was cool and brisk on her skin, but it was wonderful. He sat down in a chair. He stared at her like he was a crazy person. But she just smiled, and pulled him to his feet.

" It is so beautiful out here!" She called as she stared up at the stars. Soon Jimmy appeared in the doorway.

" It is, the stars are picture perfect," he said as he sat down in a chair.

" I've always been fascinated by the stars, they remind me of our last night together," the truth slipped from her lips. " When Alex and I were dating, when we went out under the stars, all I could think about was you, and wondered how you were doing, it was stupid of us to waste so many years Neutron," she said with a bitter tone.

" Yeah, I know, we were just both too stubborn for our friendship to last for a long time," he said as he played with his thumbs.

"But this time will be different, right?" She asked with a smile, and he nodded.

" For sure."

The night fell silent.

" Cindy, I am really sorry for what I did to you," it was random, but Cindy was glad he said it. She looked from the stars, into his eyes.

" It's okay Neutron, I didn't understand then, but eventually I came to understand, that you only wanted the best for me," she said as she started to walk towards him.

" I did love you Cindy, I really did, I only thought that it would be easier on both of us if I just cut the cord," he said softly. She touched his shoulder lightly.

" Honestly Jim, I understand."

For the first time that night he had smiled, really, truly smiled.

" And I forgive you, as long as you forgive me!"

" What did you do?"

" I held a grudge against you for the rest of my waking life, until we've been talking again, I held one mistake against you, it was wrong, because I understand why you did it, I understood it all, but yet, I still hated you for it, and for this I apologize," she said. " Will you forgive me?"

" Of course," he said with a nod. She then did something she hadn't planned to. She bent down and softly kissed his cheek. He looked at her with wide eyes, and smiled. It gave her that same electric shock. His lips were only centimeters away from hers, she started to lean towards him, and then he abruptly stood up.

" Time for bed Cindy, good night," he said coldly. What had gotten into him?

When he was gone she let out a disappointed sigh and resigned herself to the ledge again. The stars seemed to be laughing at her failure. She just shook her fist at them.

" What do you know?" She asked them.

She realized then that this was beginning to become dangerous, she loved him yes, but it was becoming intoxicating, addicting, and if she wasn't careful she would end up wanting to stay with him, and would never be able to achieve her life the way it was.

And what exactly was wrong with that? She already knew that she loved him, there was no doubt in her mind, and so what on earth was holding her back now? She had no boyfriend, no particular interests from anyone else. In all rights she had the right to make a move now and nothing should be holding her back!

And then she remembered, the fact that he didn't love her, and that he loved Tiffany, and that he wanted that redheaded girl. It was a discouraging thought. She closed her eyes, the picture of them together painted her eyelids. Her stomach churned, she couldn't believe that he wanted Tiffany instead of her! Cindy sighed as she opened her eyes she couldn't help but shed a tear. There was nothing left for her, no more Alex, no more Tiffany, no more Jimmy, the only thing left for her now was Libby. Maybe, she thought, maybe she should just go to Libby now. NO! She scolded herself, she would stick this out, she would get everything back she would be loved again, and then Jimmy would be out of her life and she would be happy again!

Or would she? Or would she just want Jimmy for the rest of her life? It was a question that she couldn't really answer. It was a tough one, a life changing one.

She hung her head in her hands. She only had a few days with him, and yet, here she wanted to make a move on the poor, clueless Jimmy. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

She thought of his touch, so warm upon her skin. It gave her goose bumps!

She thought of a song she had heard a while agocalled Dangerous Game from the musical Jekyll and Hyde.

_I feel your fingers_

_cold on my shoulder,_

_Your chilling touch as it runs down my spine._

_Watching your eyes, as they invade my soul,_

_Forbidden pleasure, I'm afraid to make mine_

_At the touch of your hand, at the sound of your voice_

_At the moment your eyes meet mine,_

_I am out of my mind, I am out of control_

_Full of feelings I can't define._

_It's a sin with no name, like a hand in a flame_

_And our senses proclaim, it's a dangerous game_

She hummed what she could remember of it. It was a very provocative song, but the words seemed to hold true in this moment. She sighed as she picked at a nail as she stepped into the bedroom. Jimmy was already on the couch, and he seemed to be sleeping soundly. She took a glance around. No one around other then just her.

She walked silently over to his bed. He was sleeping so silently, and without thinking about it she kissed his forehead softly.

" It's a dangerous game Jim, and I think I'm losing," she whispered as she ran her hand through his hair.

She wasn't losing.

She had lost a long time ago.


	14. A Get Away!

A Get Away

The next morning rolled around a little too quickly for her. Today she had to go back to work so she was up at six thirty. Her head was pounding and her stomach was churning. She was nervous as heck. She rolled out of bed and washed her face, grabbed her work clothes, threw up her hair, did her make up quickly and was ready to go. Jimmy was outside, drinking a glass of orange juice with a long face.

" What's wrong?" she asked as she put on her work shoes.

He smiled nonchalantly.

" Nothing! I promise Cindy!" He smiled brightly.

Something defiantly seemed wrong or at least to her. She just sighed, it was impossible to figure out what was wrong with him.

She just shrugged.

" Well I am off!" She said. "See you at the press conference, it's at six right?"

He nodded silently. Now she was sure something was wrong with him. Was he still angry with her for last night? She hadn't meant any harm by it! She had just been caught up in the moment! She walked out to the sky roof, and took the hover-cab to work.

Nick was standing there, waiting for her, with a scowl on his face.

" You have caused havoc here, everyone of our customers asked for you yesterday! Do you know what I had to say? That you were off having fun with your boyfriend! They all got so angry with me! They demanded to see you and Jimmy! But no!"

He sighed deeply.

"And not only that, but Tiffany was a complete wreck yesterday, at random times she would burst into tears like a leaky balloon!"

Cindy just smiled at him.

" Good morning to you to," she said happily.

" You're in a good mood, but you're the girlfriend of Jimmy Neutron, who wouldn't be in a good mood?" He snapped.

" You're just jealous because I have the best looking male in this city Nick," she teased and he just nodded.

" You're dang right I'm jealous!" He yelped like a wounded dog. She walked through the doors.

Tiffany was standing right there, her eyes streaked with tears. There was a lot of that going around these days. She glared at Cindy, and disappeared through the doors.

She picked up and order pad and walked through the doors. Almost every eye instantly traveled to her. She found the first table it was a young couple that were staring at her like a rare gem.

" Hello, I'm Cindy and I will be your server this morning, what can I get you two?"

They didn't respond.

" How about some water to start?"

They just stared.

" All right, water it is, I'll be back in a few seconds with that, and then you can tell me if you need anything else," she said as she disappeared again. She felt like she was being burned through by all of these eyes!

Tiffany started to walk towards her, was she actually going to talk to her? Just then she slapped Cindy hard across the face.

" You little liar! Everything has been a lie! You actually wanted Jimmy for yourself this whole time! You made me believe your lies! You made me, your friend, made me think that he cared for me!" She screamed. " I can't believe you did this! You put your filthy little lips on his! You said yes!!! You deserve to rot in the streets!"

She couldn't believe she was hearing this!

" You deserved to be broken hearted, I hope Alex left some scars on your heart, I hope that he kicked you out of his sight for the rest of his life!" She yelled, but Cindy didn't fight back. She then quietly disappeared into the main Lobby area.

Cindy sighed deeply and began to cry softly. How she wanted to tell her! How she wanted to clear up this lie, and yet some of it wasn't a lie, after all she was staying in his apartment, she had kissed him, and she did love him! But they weren't really dating! It was all just a lie! It was all just a lie! She wiped the final tears from her cheeks and placed the waters on her tray. She appeared again and then light a flash of light, there were cameras everywhere taking her picture.

" Miss Vortex, what can you tell us about yourself?"

She disappeared back into the kitchen. Jimmy hadn't warned her about all of this!

What was she supposed to do? She couldn't work with all of these people around! She once again walked back out into the craziness called the Main Lobby. She could see Tiffany watching closely with a glare in her eye.

She then brought the water to the young couple; that was smiling at her.

" So you are her, you're the lucky girl who is Jimmy Neutron's girlfriend?"

" Yes, I am Cindy Vortex, now how may I help you?"

The hours passed like snails on a hot day. So many people asking her questions, like how long have you worked here, how long have you known Jimmy Neutron, how did you meet?

To these questions she could only answer, " Jimmy and I will be holding a press conference later this afternoon, and you are all invited," she warmly responded. " But right now, I would really appreciate if you saved all your questions for then! Thank you!"

The mayor even came in to give her a special visit. " I knew taking him to this restaurant would pay off! A piece of meat like you! Woo! Go Jimmy!" He made a triumphant fist in the air. She rolled her eyes.

" I suppose he is taking you to the Banquet on Friday.. I am looking forward to seeing you there," he said with a wink. This old man was so gross! It was like he was always thinking sickly! It was disgusting! Friday, the day that this all ended. It seemed like it was so far away, and yet, it seemed like it was just around the corner.

Work passed slowly. Tiffany refused to speak to her; her break was filled with dreams of Jimmy. Nick glared at her, but she knew that he loved the publicity. She felt like she was walking through a dream, with no ending.

She washed her face of the tears that had accumulated on her face. She just didn't know what to do. Wherever she turned it seemed that people were going to hate her! It bugged her!

Why couldn't she have a life of her own? Why couldn't she just get away from this all? Away from Jimmy, Tiffany, Nick, Alex, Libby. She just wanted to be far, far away.

Soon enough six o clock rolled around and she walked over to her bag. Pulled out what she was going to wear for the press conference. Poor Jimmy had one of these stupid press conferences pretty much every night he had been there, not one night had been to himself.

Except the night where he had been with her, how had he arranged that? Why had he gone to so much trouble?

She decided that she wasn't going to think about it now. She pulled out the cute little red skirt she had packed with a white top. She slipped on her favorite silver whoop earrings, and her favorite red beaded chocker. To top it off she placed a red ponytail over her normal work ponytail. She had to admit, the look worked. She fixed her make up quickly and hair sprayed her hair.

A gasp filled the Lobby. Jimmy was here. She grabbed her bag and headed out to meet him. Tiffany was also getting ready to leave she glared at her.

" Have fun at your press conference," she snapped at her. And she just sighed. Jimmy stood in the doorway, dressed in a green shirt and black dress pants with a black tie. He looked pretty spiffy.

" Hey beautiful," he said with a smile, his eyes seemed so empty, something was bothering him.

" Hey handsome," she said as she fixed his tie and then took his arm and walked out the front door with her 'boyfriend.' They unlinked arms as soon as they were out of sight. He seemed so forlorn.

" What is wrong Jimmy? You can tell me!"

" Nothing Cindy, nothing that you need to worry about," he reassured.

" You aren't backing out on me, are you?"

" No Cindy, I'm not backing out on you, ready?" he asked as they blasted off into the night sky.

" As ready as I can be," sure enough they landed on top of the T.V. studio. She was so nervous! There were escorts waiting for them. She took a hold of Jimmy's arm just before they entered the studio, he stopped and gestured for the escorts to leave them be.

" Is something the matter Cindy?"

She shook her head.

" Just wanted to tell you how," How much I love you!!!! Tell him how much you love him!!!

" How much this means to me," she said and softly kissed his cheek. He blushed deeply.

" Your welcome," he responded and touched her cheek softly, for the first time all day, his eyes lit up. " Your welcome!"

They soon arrived at the news station, she took his arm and together they headed inside.

They asked question after question, soon Cindy was tired of questions and just wanted to leave! More then anything she wanted to leave! And Jimmy took the hint and was ready to leave as well, so they wrapped up the interview and they were ready to go.

" I earnestly congratulate you two," Anne said with a bitter tone.

" Thank you," Cindy said with a kind smile. They exited the studio and almost instantly Cindy let out an aggravated sigh.

" Honestly! How do you live with this?"

He laughed.

" By taking it one day at a time, it's a technique, trust me," he said with a smile. She loved that smile; it set her emotions going every time like a match to gasoline.

" I am ready for bed," she said with a heavy sigh and she took off her high heels.

There was a sparkle in his eye that hadn't been there before, what was wrong with him?

" I was thinking of something a bit, different," he said with a smile.

She threw him a confused look as she took the ponytail out of her hair and got in the hover-car. They flew up, up, up and away from the city lights.

Where on earth were they going?

" Jimmy! Where are you taking me?"

" It's a surprise, and a reward for making it through your first press conference. You see after an especially trying conference I reward myself somehow, it makes them easier to deal with!" He said with an insane grin on his face.

" Oh my gosh, you've lost your mind!"

" Nope, I've gained it!"

Cindy was frightened, but she just went along with it.

The stars were beautiful tonight.

" I wanted to see the broadcast!"

" It always helps to not," he assured her. " Trust me," he said as they flew over the ocean. Where were they going? They were going south, that's all she knew. Why south?

The empty ocean was so beautiful it was a beautiful night for a fly. She stared at the peaceful waters of the ocean. It was so beautiful, the stars being reflected in the waters surface, it was like she was flying in them.

They rode for several hours like this. Soon, she was sure it was at least midnight and they began to slow down.

" This is where I came after my first interview," he said as he pointed to an island in the middle of the water. And for a moment Cindy stopped breathing.

It was their island!!


	15. Sandy Beaches

Holy cow! It's been forever, huh? Sorry!! I hate technology, but I love all of you! Happy Easter, and enjoy! All my love! -Kte

Sandy Beaches

Cindy stared at the island below her, barely breathing.

Could it really be?

Jimmy laughed, waking her from her trance.

"Are you surprised?"

"Surprised? I'm not surprised," She paused, "I'm shocked!"

They landed upon the sand. The sound of the waves crashed around her, the smell of sea air lingered upon the air; a warm breeze tickled her skin. She sighed happily, and she noted that Jimmy was staring at her curiously.

"This place brings back such a rush of memories."

He walked towards her with a glint in his eye.

"Oh I know what you mean. The first time I came here, I seriously sat on that log and cried," he gestured to a log. For a moment her breath caught in her throat.

"Oh my, is that really our log?"

He nodded.

"Would you like to sit, for old times sake?"

She sat down on the log and sighed.

"I can't believe this, it's been so many years! How many years has it been?"

"At least ten, at least since you were here last."

She took off her high heeled shoes and squished her toes between the warm sand. It felt good to feel its warmth again.

"How did you ever find this place?"

"Well, I knew it was near the equator so I estimated how far our drift patterns would have taken us, and I only saw one island, so I figured it had to be the one. I landed the air craft, and started to look around. It had the flora of the one that we had found, but I wanted more then that, and to my luck," he blushed.

"Yes?"

He cleared his throat. "And to my luck, I found a tree with a heart with C+J forever carved inside of it, and I figured that we were the only two with those initials to ever be in this remote location."

Cindy blushed, and an awkward silence fell over them.

"Oh," she responded. "That's a good conclusion."

He laughed.

"Cindy," he suddenly reached over and took her hand. "Cindy, you've got to know how sorry I am for what I did to you back then."

Cindy rolled her eyes.

"I know you are! And I've forgiven you! I understand now. I really do. After all you've done for me, I've forgiven you wholeheartedly. You just wanted what was best for me, and really that's the truest statement of love that I have ever had made," she stopped herself.

"Cindy?"

"Yes?"

"Did you really love me?"

"With every inch of my heart, in fact Neutron, I could safely say I was head over heels for you," she said quietly.

I a_m head over heels for you_, a little voice whispered in her head.

He nodded.

"I know."

"And what about you, were you really in love with me?"

Just then she looked into his deep blue eyes, which she had been avoiding on purpose. He sighed as if she should know te answer all ready.

"Oh Cindy, I loved you more then I can say, I loved you more then Science, more then the world. When I gave you up, it killed me. But I knew it was the right thing to do," he said quietly and played with his thumb and looked back up at her. "Oh Cindy, I loved you, every night for years after I left I dreamed of you and me and that night on the plaid blanket."

A tear slipped down her cheek and she closed her eyes.

"Do you know how wonderful it is to hear you say that?"

When she opened her eyes he was smiling at her brightly.

"How wonderful?"

"More wonderful then I can say. It's such closure," she whispered happily, "Such wonderful closure."

"And I couldn't agree more, and I'm so glad that we've been able to achieve it through this. I have to admit, I couldn't have planned it better myself!" He teased with a twinkle in his eye.

Silence fell, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was a peaceful silence.

"Cindy, do you want something to drink?"

"Yes, I would really like that!" She chirped.

He opened a backpack and took out two Purple Flurps and threw her one.

"Now that's something I haven't seen in a really long time! How I've missed those sodas. It's sad how they went out of business, I used to love them!"

He nodded in agreement as he took a sip of his soda.

"I order it for me especially, when you've got money, people will do almost anything for you."

Cindy cracked hers open and it fizzed a little bit and took a sip. The soda touched her tongue, and immediately it recognized the tang grape taste. She stood up and walked towards the water and stood at the edge. Cindy sighed as she unpinned a bobby pin from her hair.

"It's been so long since I was last here, but yet I can still remember it perfectly."

Jimmy was silent; and she sighed again.

Just then he appeared out of no where and attacked her with a water balloon, and for a moment she stood in shock. Soaked from head to toe, her mouth dropped as he tossed her a bag full of balloons.

"You little cheat! You didn't even give me fair warning!" She yelped.

"Oh come on, you know you want to fight back," he teased.

She opened the bag and took one of the balloons. She filled one with water, and he smiled.

"Try and get me Vortex," he teased.

"Oh don't worry, I will."

He hid behind a large rock as she followed him around, he tossed one at her and it hit her shoulder. She laughed loudly as she threw one at him and it hit his lower waist. He laughed. This silliness continued, when they finally had finished playing, they were both soaking wet. Cindy dripped out the water from her hair. He smiled and walked over to her.

"That was fun!"

The stars sparkled in the sky.

"I agree," she said softly.

"Don't be so sad, or I will have to make you smile!"

"How would you manage that?" He walked closer and Cindy stopped breathing. "Like this," he said as he tickled her sides suddenly. Cindy giggled and fiercely pulled away.

"Ah! That tickles!" She cried through her laughter.

"That's the point," he said as he tickled her more. She giggled and tried to fight him off.

"Jimmy, stop that!" She laughed harder and he tickled her more. All of a sudden her feet began to slip beneath her. "Jimmy!" She grasped unto his shoulder, as she fell downwards. She had accidently pulled him down with her onto the sand. They laughed, and she sighed as he rolled on to his back next to her.

"Aren't the stars beautiful?"

"Yes they are," she responded.

"Why so sad?"

"I was just thinking about how little I get to see the stars, I've forgotten how beautiful they really are."

"Sometimes when I'm up there in space I forget the beauty that is found on earth."

"What is it like living up there Jim?"

He smiled happily.

"Everyday is an adventure! I get to do all the things I love all above the clueless occupants of the earth. It's breathtaking Cindy, I've seen so many things that I never thought were possible. I've tasted success, I've expierenced failure. I've felt the soil of every planet beneath my feet."

"Wow."

"What is life like down here?"

"Boring! I work everyday," she spoke the truth and blushed. "Did you know that right after we separated, I couldn't look up at the stars for a full year," she said quietly.

He grunted and suddenly took her hand. She looked over at him as his fingers slid between hers.

"I can understand!"

"Oh Jimmy!" She took him her arms and hugged him tightly, inhaling his scent deeply.

He laughed as he pulled away, but he didn't get very far before Cindy grabbed his arm rather forcefully. He looked at her curiously, and Cindy had to fight off the strong urge to pull him into her.

"Will you help me up?"

He nodded.

He got up and took her hand in his again and pulled her to her feet. She wiped the sand off her skirt. She looked up to discover that Jimmy was staring at her yet again.

"What?"

He didn't say anything; he closed the distance between them and softly touched her cheek with his palm.

"Jimmy what are you doing?"

He still didn't respond, it was like he was in a trance of some sort.

"Jimmy?"

Just then she found his lips against her ear, and he softly kissed it and softly connected his lips with hers for a moment then pulled away.

"What was that?"

"It's called a kiss."

She could muster no response, she just sighed happily. He kissed her cheek and then her neck.

He stared deeply into her eyes and leaned into her. His lips merely inches from hers, slowly breathing. Leaning in so slowly, and then they connected for only a moment.

_Don't give in, don't give in. _His lips were soon pressed against hers. Don't give in! Don't give… Oh! It was too late!

He pulled away again and she sighed happily.

"Don't you** dare** stop," she said softly and she returned his kiss gently, making sure it's what he wanted. She felt his hands upon her lower back as he pulled her tighter into him. Her hands slid up around his neck. She whimpered in pleasure as he kissed the side of her mouth. That silly, wonderful, and addicting tingling filled every inch of her body. He placed his lips right next to hear, his breath tickling her hair line.

"I.. I.."

Just then he pulled away suddenly and she sighed.

"What's wrong?"

He shot her a glare. She knew perfectly what was wrong.

"We need to get out of here, right now Cindy…"

"But we just got here!"

"We need to leave…"

She watched as he got in the hover car, his eyes traveled upwards. Those deep blue eyes filled with mystery, those lips filled with honey that she craved so intensely. Just then she was overcome with such a passion that it couldn't be ignored. She started walking towards him.

"Cindy? Why are you looking at me like that? Cindy?"

But she wasn't listening. She walked right up to him, he was throwing her a rather confused look. She then grabbed his arm and pulled his lips forcefully into hers, he fought for a moment, but then he slowly melted into her kiss. To her delightful surprise, he deepened the kiss. A passionate fire had been lit; and it would take a lot of water to put it out. She now had all her wait against the hover car. Just then as he moved his arm, to put it around her waist, the hover car moved and she fell into the water.

That would do it. She looked up into his eyes; he had such a sad look.

"Cindy, we **need** to go now," he urged her.

And as he helped into the hover car, she felt the tingles shoot up her spine, except fifty times stronger then normal. He took her hand.

"I'm really sorry about there," he gestured to the island as they flew upwards. She shrugged.

"It takes two to tango," she said.

He nodded and smiled, and yet she could swear she could see sadness in those eyes that she so deeply loved.

She stared out at the stars, and smiled as she thought of there night together. His passionate touch, his soft touch, the memory of his kiss like a ghost in the night…

And then she realized that **no** part of her heart belonged to Alex any more.

Not even the tiniest part.

For on those sandy beaches, Jimmy had claimed every inch of her heart. All she wanted was Jimmy, Jimmy in the evening, Jimmy in the morning, Jimmy in the afternoon. She wanted HIS fingers in her hair in the morning while kissing her forehead, she wanted HIM chasing her around the bathroom, and she wanted to be greeted by HIS sweet lips pressed against hers after a hard day of work. Most of all, she would not have him belong to anyone else. He was to be hers, and she would be his…..

She sighed deeply as the world faded in and out as she slipped into a light sleep.

What was she going to do now?


	16. Dear Cindy

Dear Cindy

She awoke the next morning to the sun shining brightly on her face. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to have to face him; she would do anything to avoid seeing him. What would she say? How would she explain her actions? How would she explain everything?

She slowly rose from her bed, wrapped her robe around her, and walked out of the bedroom. It was silent, and Cindy figured Jimmy must still be sleeping. But when she got out to the living room, his stuff was gone. The couch was empty. She cocked her head to the left. She searched around the house, every room was empty. She was very confused now.

"Jimmy?" She called but there was no response. Finally she walked into the kitchen and then noticed a note on the coffee table. She walked over to it, extremely puzzled.

_Dear Cindy, I am sorry this is so sudden, but after what happened last night, I just felt so guilty. You are almost engaged Cindy, and as soon as the Banquet is over you will be, and so I've decided to rent a room not far away. This is for the best Cindy, for Tiffany and for Alex. _

_I hope you have a good few days Cindy, and I will see you Friday night._

_Pick you up about ten minutes to six._

_-Jimmy _

Cindy sat down in the chair, surprised. This didn't make any sense. It wasn't like Jimmy to just leave without an explanation. What was going on? Just then the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cin!" She knew Libby's voice all ready.

"Oh hey there Libs," she responded.

"Cindy, what's wrong?"

"I'm just so confused!"

"Girl, tell me everything!"

"Well you see, we've been faking this whole dating thing, right?"

"Yeah," she sounded skeptical.

"Well yesterday, we had bit of a, fling?"

She could almost see Libby smiling knowingly.

"It wasn't like that! He took me to the island to reward me for doing so well in the interview, and,"

"You mean THE island?" Libby interrupted.

"Yes the island, why?"

"Just wondering, so what happened?"

She could hear Libby trying to figure out what happened, and why it happened.

"Well, we ended up playing in the sand, dancing under the stars, and then..."

"Yes?"

"And then he, he kissed me Libby."

"He did what?"

"He kissed me! And then, I kissed him, but the weird thing was he seemed so sad about it, and then he took me home, and I fell asleep, then this morning I awoke to a note saying that he is renting a room not far from here, and that till then he won't be seeing me basically."

Libby was silent on the other end, and then she sighed deeply.

"How is it possible that a smart girl like you can't figure this out?"

"Figure what out?"

"Ugh! Girl! He's in love with you!"

"What?!"

"Jimmy Neutron is absolutely and completely in love, with YOU! He's head over heals for you girl!"

"May I remind you that I am here alone."

"Exactly! Did you ever consider that being around you, knowing that you are soon to be engaged might make it harder on him? It would drive anyone crazy knowing that you were helping the person you were in love with win over their ex!"

"But it just doesn't make sense!"

"He's feeling guilty because he's in love with you, and he can't figure out that you're in love with him! It's just like that new musical I heard about, Get With Me," she added.

Cindy sighed, this just didn't make sense.

"But if he loves me, why can't he just say so?"

"May I remind you of what happened last time between you two? He's afraid of hurting you, I'm sure of it!"

"How do you know?"

"You two have been violently in love ever since we were kids, and you both know it! Now it's time you both come to this realization and get with it! Because some of us are getting sick of waiting! You two are perfect for each other!"

Cindy sighed, staring at the note.

"I just don't understand why he needed to leave."

"Cindy! He does on the news right now, turn your TV on!"

She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.

There was Jimmy, with a flashing headline beneath it.

JIMMY SPEAKS: Relationship with Vortex

"So how is the relationship going?"

"Oh it's going good."

He seemed so sad, like there was a heavy weight upon his shoulders.

"Are you two planning to attend the Mayor's Banquet in a few days?"

"Yes, we are, actually if you don't mind, I would like to give a message to my girlfriend."

Cindy cocked her head, what could he possible have to say?

"Sorry I left so suddenly this morning, there's a surprise for you in the bedroom closet, now back to these questions of yours."

Cindy had stopped talking, and Libby gasped.

"Go look in the closet right now girl!"

She followed orders and walked to the bedroom, over the closet.

"Okay, here goes nothing," she said softly and opened the closet.

There was a silver dress bag hanging there with _Les Château_ embroidered on it in.

"There is no way!"

"What is it?"

She reached for the zipper and unzipped the bag. Sure enough, there in front of her was the dress that she had tried on in the store. She gasped.

"Oh my."

"Cindy what is it for gosh sakes?"

"It's my dress," and then her eyes caught another note pinned to the bag. "And there's another note," she added.

"Read it to me!"

"_Dear Cindy, I hope that you can forgive me for leaving so suddenly, and I hope this partly makes up for it. You deserve to feel like a princess for putting up with my confusing antics all this time, see you Friday! Jimmy." _

Libby sighed happily.

"Oh Cindy, he's so in love with you! You need to know this!"

"How can you be so sure?"

She laughed.

"I just know, but I really should go Cind, have a good rest of the day."

And then with a click her best friend hung up on her.

What had she meant? Surely Jimmy couldn't love her!

Her fingers traced along the white fabric. Her hand wandered to the bodice, lightly touching the sequences softly. A tear fell down her cheek.

"Oh my darling Jimmy, this was too much."

She pulled out her cell phone and made sure his interview was over, and then dialed his number.

"Hey Cindy," he greeted.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Do you like your gift?"

"Oh Jimmy! I love it! You didn't need to do this!"

"But I did, I want you to enjoy your night at the Banquet, and plus it looked like it was made for you."

She laughed.

"Thank you Jimmy, it was too sweet of you. So where exactly are you staying?"

"That my friend is my little secret."

She sighed.

"If you say so;" silence. "So, I thought the interview went well."

"Yeah it did! It is so easy to make people believe lies!"

"It is," she replied.

"Well I should be going Cindy, I hope you have a good day, I'll see you tomorrow."

Tomorrow, was it already Friday tomorrow?

Sure enough, it was. This heaven (and hell) would finally come to its abrupt end. She sighed deeply as she lay back down on the bed. She stared at the dress hanging inside the closet.

Did he love her? Did he want her like she wanted him?

Maybe tomorrow night would answer these questions.

Yes, it would.

She picked up the phone and called into work.

"Nick, I'm coming in now," he laughed on the other end.

"It's about time."

She just sighed and got dressed, and walked out the door.

-x-

Lots of questions were directed her way about the gift that she received. Was it a ring? She would just shrug and say, it was a secret.

It was a secret. All day long she pondered what Libby had said. Did he love her? Did he really care? Or was it just all a façade?

-x-


	17. The Banquet

No own Jimmy

So enjoy this chapter! All my love, -Katie

The Mayor's Banquet

It was five o clock before she knew it, and Cindy realized how nervous she was. She hadn't seen him in days and she felt like she would never be ready. It would be the biggest night of her life, she could just feel it. Maybe she would reveal her true feelings; maybe she would go back to Alex….

"Good luck tonight Cindy," Nick said breaking her from her thoughts.

She started off the night by slipping into the tub, (she even put rose pedals in no less) the warm water felt so good on her dry skin. She took a deep breath; everything was going to be fine she told herself, just fine. She got out of the tub and dried off and then it was time. She slipped her dress on.

She took her jacket from the hanger next to her as she slipped on her shoes, then she grabbed her purse and went to the window. Jimmy stood there wearing a black tux, he looked amazing!

Jimmy stared at her for a moment, and then blushed deeply.

" You look beautiful Cind," he said as he took her arm. She just smiled at him warmly.

" Thank you, this dress was amazing!"

"You're welcome," he replied as they walked out to the hover-limo waiting for them.

"That's not your limo!"

" I rented a new limo especially for this occasion," he said as he opened the limo door. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen! The interior was black leather, but it had soft luscious seat cushions and there was emerald green ribbon stitching outlining the seats. It was absolutely breath taking.

As the hover car started up he touched his hand to hers softly.

He smiled at her and shot her a wink, " Ready to get your life back?" He teased.

She then quickly moved and closed the distance between their faces, stopping half an inch from his lips.

"Thank you for everything," she whispered.

Then she ever so lightly touched her lips to his. The moment lasted for only a moment as they slowed down. She pulled away, and smiled at a very stunned Jimmy as the hover car came to complete stop.

"Are you ready to make this believable?" She asked with a tease as she stepped out of the limo. Instantly cameras started to flash as Jimmy stepped out and took her arm.

A huge mansion stood in front of them, it was indescribable. Like nothing she had ever seen.

Cindy felt like she was at a movie premier. It was all so beautiful; all the women in fine clothes, all the jewels. A girl could get lost in all of it. But all Cindy could think about was the stupid buzzing in her body created by Jimmy's wretched honey sweet lips.

At this moment they walked under an archway and were greeted by the Mayor. He smiled at her brightly and took her hand and softly kissed it.

"You are most certainly the most stunning woman here tonight my dear, Jimmy is very lucky," she just blushed as a way of saying thank you. "Now if you two will follow me, you two have the best seats in the house."

Cindy noticed that people were staring at her, admiring her beautiful dress. She truly felt like a princess. They walked for a while and soon came to a two huge mahogany doors. Cindy stood there for a while admiring the pure beauty. Soon a waiter soon came to greet them.

"Take these two to their seats, I have to continue to meet and greet people."

The waiter bowed and did as he was commanded. He opened the two shut doors and Cindy gasped.

The room was like a huge ballroom, and then Cindy froze, there was a sky roof!! She had thought that they were only legend. A sky roof was just simple glass, so the stars above were clearly visible. Gorgeous chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and white lights were decorating the walls, which were a deep red. There were red roses on every table, there were only about 20 tables or so, and so there was lots of floor space. There was going to actually be a dance that followed! A real life ball!

"Jimmy! This is gorgeous!" She cooed happily as she gripped his arm tighter.

They followed the waiter as Cindy was lost in thought, absorbing her surroundings. There was a large stage not far from where they were, obviously this was where most of the action was taking place, and there were four seats with music stands in front of them.

"That is where the string quartet will be playing, only the best in the world of course," the waiter said abruptly.

He led them straight to a small round table big enough for four people, right in front of the stage. The waiter pulled out Cindy's chair and she could barely sit down being as she was completely numb from the splendor of this place.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it! It's so beautiful! I couldn't dream something like this Jimmy! I love it!" He touched her hand lightly.

Just then, three violinists and a cellist soon appeared on the stage. The most beautiful music she had ever heard soon floated into her ears.

Soon Alex walked through the large doors, his eyes widened at her appearance. She couldn't help but notice that he was with Tiffany and Cindy couldn't help but laugh! They were killing two birds with one stone. Jimmy looked at Cindy and smiled knowingly.

And once everyone was seated, the Mayor came in. There was a roar of applause and the music stopped. He stepped up onto the stage in front of them in front of a microphone. Cindy then took notice that Jimmy still had not released her hand.

" Good evening! Tonight's schedule will be as follows; you first eat, then we will present the awards, and then a small ball!"

The supper was marvelous, but it passed too quickly. Soon, it was desert, and then the awards. Time was passing so quickly, and Cindy hated it. The mayor reappeared on the stage.

"I want to give the award of Greatest Entrepreneur, this is for only new businesses, and this is the business that has profited the most in the past year, and this year's winner is La Chateau!" Cindy clapped wildly as the shopkeeper from the dress shop walked up to the microphone.

" Just so you know, Cindy Vortex's dress was bought at my shop!!" She signaled for Cindy to stand, and she did, there was a loud applause.

Alex even got one, the MVB award. (Most Valuable Business) since he brought the city the hover car.

Then the mayor stood up for the last time.

"And last but not least, this is a special award for a special man," he started. He pulled out a New York state map, and then a t-shirt, and then a large piece of paper and a glass New York. "This is for the man who has been an encouragement to us all, who has blessed us with his presence, has changed the world, and has visited New York! He has changed the history of New York, and he will go down in history as one of the most influential men of our time, and yet, here he sits, in our presence, ladies and gentlemen, give a hand for Jimmy Neutron!"

Jimmy stood up slowly, and the applause started, one by one people stood up, soon the whole room was on their feet. He walked up and shook the Mayor's hand.

"In appreciation we, as the state of New York, present you, Jimmy Neutron, with a state map, a t-shirt that says I love NYC, and last but not least, the biggest thing that I can give, the Appreciation Award, which entails your picture being hung inside of the Empire State building with some of the most powerful men in our history, including some past presidents," he said with a smile. "May you continue your blessing on this country," he started clapping. Cindy was brimming with pride, she could almost cry. That was the man she loved!! It was the man she wanted!

Jimmy stepped to the mike.

"Well, thank you so much for having me tonight," he looked to Cindy, he almost looked sad. " And this is for all the people that I love, I owe them everything! And now, let's continue on with the party!" He chimed.

"Let the ball begin," the Mayor announced. Instantly the music started on the other end of the room. People clapped louder and Jimmy left the stage. He walked over to Cindy placed his things on the table.

"Come dance with me," he whispered in her ear. She took his hand and followed him onto the dance floor.

Everyone was watching them!

"Just ignore them," he whispered as they began to sway to the soft music. " Just close your eyes and lose yourself. Now here is the plan, we will dance two songs together, and I will say I love you and kiss you meaningfully, and then you will slap me and say I love Alex! Not YOU!"

" But doesn't that make me look evil? Everyone will hate me!"

"I will explain to everyone that you had earlier told me that you still loved Alex and that you had made a mistake, it will make it seem like I was not being understanding and that I am trying to win you back, but it just wasn't possible."

Cindy sighed. The second song started and she realized she only had one song with him left!! Other people were finally beginning to wander onto the dance floor, including Alex and Tiffany.

She closed her eyes and gripped onto him tighter. Why couldn't she just hold onto him forever?

And then she looked at Tiffany and clutched Jimmy tighter, inhaling his scent for the last time. This was for Tiffany…

" Jimmy I will miss you, where will you be if I need to talk?"

" I will only be a phone call away Cind, only a phone call away," he responded quietly as the music slowed. " Are you ready? It's time to be that wonderful actress I know you are."

The music stopped, and she looked up into his eyes.

" I love you Cindy!" He said loudly and then kissed her passionately. It was all happening so fast. He pulled away, waiting for her to slap him, but she couldn't do it.

She couldn't say those words! She couldn't say them! Instead, she pulled his lips forcefully back into hers. He responded quickly and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"We don't need a make out session!" Tiffany cried and instantly Cindy remembered why she was supposed to be here! She pulled away hurriedly.

Jimmy stood completely baffled by her actions; Alex and Tiffany were red in the face. Everyone was waiting, hanging on her every word. She couldn't stand it! She had to get away! Without another word, Cindy flew out the side door.

"Cindy! Wait!" Jimmy called from behind her.

But she would not listen! She ran and ran, and as she started down the stairs, she lost her glass slipper. She looked back, but she could hear a herd of people not far behind her and she knew she didn't have a chance to escape.

A storage closet near the door caught her eye.

She smiled, and ran into the closet just in time.

"She lost her shoe," Tiffany's sad voice chimed. "Figures," she added sourly.

"So you think you can go around just go kissing my girlfriend?" An angry Alex bellowed.

"Hey! Her kissing me back wasn't part of the plan!"

Cindy's breath caught in her throat. Oh no!

-x-


	18. Ever After

So here it is, the next installment in the So Contagiously epic. Thank you for reading and enjoy! P.S. Glad you like the Cinderella thing. Wasn't sure if it would work or not! Enjoy!

No own Jimmy!

Ever After

"What do you mean, plan?"

"I mean, that we had a plan concocted to win you back, and that kiss was NOT a part of it…"

"What do you mean?" Alex snapped.

"This was all for you Alex, every last bit."

Jimmy still hadn't figured it out, she was sure he had, especially after the island thing.

There were another few moments of silence.

"Well, I am going to head back to my hotel," Jimmy added.

"Yeah, I am going back home, maybe she went there."

"Without her shoe?" Tiffany inquired.

"Well, where else would she have gone?"

"Well I don't know! All I know is that a girl wouldn't just leave a shoe like this behind unless she was planning to come back for it!"

"She obviously didn't!" Alex curtly responded.

"Well I am going back to my hotel," Jimmy said.

"Night Jimmy," Tiffany said quietly.

Cindy almost called out, but she resisted.

She listened to the voices in the hallways for a few more moments.

"Ya know, it just doesn't make sense! Why would Cindy kiss Jimmy if she wanted you back?" asked Tiffany.

"I think both you and I know she didn't want me back, we know she's in love with Jimmy she's just too afraid to say so," Alex snapped and Cindy gasped.

Everything was quiet she heard footsteps and Alex opened the storage closet door.

--

"Cindy! There you are! We've been looking for you everywhere!" Tiffany squealed.

"Why were you hiding in the closet?"

"Because I was afraid …" she paused. "I was afraid someone would come after me to try and take pictures."

Alex looked at her with cold, empty eyes.

"You loved him all along didn't you?" He bellowed.

Her throat scratched and her heart beat loudly.

Tiffany stared at them intently.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You convinced him that brought him here tonight to win me back, but you really brought him here to kiss him, to win him!"

"I did not bring him here to win him! I brought him here so I could win you back, it was part of the plan, you heard!!"

"Are you still trying to convince yourself that's how it is Vortex? Well guess what, there are some people in this world that can see the relationship between you two! And we are sick of having our hearts played with while you dance across bar room floors. Just kiss him and tell him you love him!" Tiffany exclaimed suddenly. Alex and Cindy looked at her intensely. "Or just, not." She added.

Cindy looked touched Alex lightly on the cheek. "Oh Alex, it really was for you…"

"But it's not anymore is it?"

"I don't know!" She replied, frustrated.

"Just tell me, do you love him??"

Alex was pushing her buttons! Very fast!

"I don't know!"

"You have to know!"

"I know I want my life to be the way it was again!"

"Why?"

"Because I miss you and our life together," she replied.

"You still haven't answered my questions!!"

"What questions?"

"Do you love him?"

Tears were running down her cheeks now. "I don't believe you!"

"Just answer the question!"

Silence fell in the hall. Tiffany looked at her with tear stained eyes. Alex was furious; she knew they both knew the truth.

"Yes, I love him, okay!"

She sighed deeply as she sat on a nearby bench. "Yes, I love him."

Alex scoffed.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that out," and walked towards the door. He paused, "But he hasn't even figured it out, has he Cind?"

Cindy looked up and shook her head. He ignored her.

"Didn't think so, good luck Cindy," he replied curtly.

Tiffany looked at her sadly.

"He has such power doesn't he, power in his scent, power in his touch, like a drug."

"What?"

"Oh never mind."

Silence, she cast a long look at her friend.

"I knew it was you."

"What was me?"

"The main reason Jimmy wouldn't go out with me, was because he kept saying something about his soul mate!"

"What are you talking about?"

"One night I was so angry and frustrated with him, not long before you guys officially started dating, I called him and asked why he was so unhappy with me! Why he didn't kiss me, and he told me he was in love with another woman! I begged him to tell me and he couldn't something about hurting her, or hurting their relationship. I can't believe I didn't see it before! He's in love with you Cindy, madly, crazy.."

"What are you talking about he doesn't!"

Tiffany shook her head. "Why don't I take you home Cindy, you've had a long night."

"You don't hate me?"

"Jealousy, I was jealous but that doesn't mean I hate you!"

"Oh I thought for sure you did!"

"No Cindy, I was just really struggling, I thought he liked me, then he didn't, then he did. It was the most confusing thing ever, but now I see it was only you, you're the reason why he refuses to try!"

Cindy picked up her glass shoe and studied the long flowing dress she was wearing. Was Tiffany right was Jimmy in love with her? Her toes tingled at the thought. It was impossible, Jimmy couldn't love her….

Her thoughts traced backwards in time, the past few days. He had been acting very strangely indeed. When they kissed, he kissed her back and regretted it, why? Because he hated her or maybe it was because he loved her and knew he couldn't have her, Cindy shook her head, no that couldn't be it.

Tiffany was silent walking along with her in the New York night. The stars twinkled up above.

"You two were so cute tonight," Tiffany added.

"Oh, thank you."

"That kiss was to die for!"

Cindy sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry Cindy; you don't really need a play by play do you?"

She really thought Tiffany would take the blow worse then this.

"Tiffany why are you being so cool about this, I mean, you just found out that your co worker is in love with the man you are in love with."

"Simple, I realized how much you love him, like I said, that kiss was to die for."

Cindy blushed.

"It was really that telling huh?"

"Cindy you could've made an announcement and I don't think people would have been an inch surprised."

The hover car started up with a loud roar.

"Should I tell him do you think?" Cindy asked as they ascended into the night sky.

Tiffany looked at her with a scowl.

"You have to! You can't let a man like that just waltz out of your life twice you know."

"Wait a minute, you knew about me and Jimmy?"

"Oh who didn't? It was sort of broadcast!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well the first time I saw you two together I kind of felt something was up, and then that crazy newscaster lady Anne was making broadcasts about it a few days ago."

The lights from the hover cars around them were bright, the honking, the noise was becoming like a dream as she faded into daydream. The taste of his kiss danced on her lips, the forbidden pleasure she was afraid to claim as her own, the feeling of his warm breath on her face like a sweet fragrance intoxicating and immobilizing.

"Stop this hover car!!"

"Cindy? What's wrong?"

"Stop it right now!"

Tiffany lowered the craft a few feet and pulled up to the entrance of Jimmy's hotel.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Thank you Tiffany for everything."

She nodded silently, Cindy stepped towards the door.

"Cindy," she paused. "Good luck."

Cindy nodded.

"Thanks."

She laughed as she headed right for the door.

-x-


	19. So Contagiously

Alas! Thank you for reading! So I know this is what the fic is titled, and usually I end my stories with the chapter that starts with the title. But nope, not this time. I have one more chapter up my sleeve, all my love Katie.

No Own Jimmy.

Italics are the words to the song So Contagiously by Acceptance. Seriously listen to it, it's amazing.

So Contagiously

She arrived at the hotel desk and the woman clerk looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yes miss?"

"James Neutron's suite please," she stated.

"Hum, you need clearance to get that information."

_Oh no, _

Cindy scanned her brain

_This couldn't be more unexpected,_

Distract her…

_And I can tell that I've been moving in so slow_

She walked away from the desk and called Libby.

_Don't let it throw you off too far, _

"Hello?"

"Libby, I love you."

_Because I'll be running right behind you_

"What do you want Cindy?"

_Could this be out of line? _

"I want you to call Jimmy's hotel for me. The number is 555-56790, call and pretend like you are a disgruntled client, ask to talk to her superiors.. I need at least ten minutes, thanks."

She hung up.

_Could this be out of line?_

Soon enough the phone rang.

"Hello? Miss? Why are you crying?"

To say you're the only one, breaking me down like this?

Soon the woman stood up and went to fetch her superior. Perfect.

Cindy jumped over the small desk and got to the computer and it was open to the guest list.

A…

_You're the only one I would take a shot on,_

She scanned to N..

Nen

Neutron! Suite 110

She smiled and jumped back over the desk and ran to the elevators. Thankfully the floor he was on didn't need a special clearance!

_Keep me hanging on, _

The elevator reached the lobby floor with a DING.

She stepped inside just as the clerk appeared, and Cindy flashed a smile at her and took off.

_so contagiously._

Finally she reached the fourth floor. She saw the sign, 110 to the right.

She turned to the right and began to run down the hallway.

108, 108…

A big wooden door was at the very end of the hallway. 110.

_When I'm around you, I'm predictable_

On account of my transgression will you welcome this confession?

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" She heard Jimmy's voice say. She heard the door unlock and mentally prepped herself.

Jimmy opened the door, and then his wonderful eyes met hers.

_Cause I believe in loving you at first sight._

"You are definitely NOT pizza delivery."

"No most definitely not."

"What on earth was that about tonight?"

Silence fell.

"What are you talking about?"

_I know its crazy but I'm hoping to,_

"At the Mayor's Banquet, you kissed me!"

"So am I not allowed to kiss who I want?"

He ignored the question.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Alex?"

_To take a hold of you._

Cindy stared at him intensely trying to find a way to say it, anyway to say it. But no words would come.

He sat down on a kitchen chair, oblivious to the fact that Cindy was trying to tell him her darkest secret.

"You forgot something," Cindy she finally mustered.

"What?"

_Oh you're everything I'm wanting_

"This," she said and in a brisk movement she crossed the room took and passionately crashed her lips unto his. And to her delightful surprise he kissed her back as he slowly rose from his chair to wrap his arms around her. But then he blinked in surprise and pulled away.

"What was that about?"

_Come to think of it I'm aching_

"Cindy! I don't understand this! Want to explain? What about Alex? They were saying that you're in love with me!"

_On account of my transgression_

"Neutron you are such an IDIOT!" She bellowed. "I **am** in love with YOU!"

Time seemed to freeze.

_Will you welcome this confession?_

Jimmy shook his head.

"Huh?"

"I'm in love with you," she repeated. She scanned his eyes, searching for some sort of response. But he looked like he had been clobbered over the head with something very heavy. "I always have, even when I hated you I loved you! With every kiss, every touch you won more of my heart. But I was too afraid to give it up, too afraid to give my heart and not get yours back. But tonight, I finally got sick of pretending."

_Could this be out of line?_

"Jimmy, please say something."

Finally a soft smile came across his lips.

_Could this be out of line?_

He walked across the room slowly.

_To say you're the only one breaking me down like this _

"Jimmy?"

"Just shut up Vortex."

Then without another word he kissed her with such desperate force that he pushed her up against the wall. His fingers softly combed her hair, and his other hand rested firmly upon her lower back.

_You're the only one I would take a shot on_

Her heart and body were screaming for him. Just then he softly pulled away, Cindy was completely speechless.

_Keep me hanging on, so contagiously._

"Damn Vortex you are such a good kisser," he said with a tease. He kissed her again with just as much passion if not more then the first time and suddenly lifted her from the ground and set her down on the bed.

_Could this be out of line, could this be out of line?_

His lips kissed her neck softly and he paused right next to her ear.

_To say you're the only one breaking me down like this?_

"I love you," he sweetly said. Cindy's lips quivered with excitement as he looked her straight in the eye and smiled. "I love you," he repeated as he closed the distance between their faces. His eyes sparkled playfully and kissed her yet again. His hands twisting her long blonde hair softly, she inhaled his smell, and his taste.

_You're the only one I would take a shot on…_

He kissed her lips softly as his hands ran across her stomach. Touching the skin underneath her shirt for a moment and Cindy felt an annoying sensation run through her body.

_Keep me hanging on,_

Suddenly he rose from his position above her and went to the door. She heard him close it and lock the door and then the lights went off. Was this really happening? She was still in shock, Jimmy Neutron was in love with her.

_So contagiously._

She giggled as he appeared with a devilish smile and advanced towards her.

_Keep me hanging on, so contagiously._

-x-


	20. The Consequences of Her Actions

Here it is, the final chapter!! :) Enjoy! Love you! -Kte

The Consequences of Her Actions

The next morning Cindy awoke in a purely euphoric state. She sighed very happily and giggled as she rolled over to kiss him, but there was only a pillow.

Perhaps it all had been a dream. Had it all been a dream? No, this was his hotel room. Had he just left her?

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Just a moment please!" She threw some clothes on and hurried to the door.

There stood maid whose name was ANNA with a silver plate.

"Room service," she said with a smile.

Cindy took the plate and opened it. There was muffin and a note. She gave the girl a tip and just before she headed off into the room, Anna touched her arm softly.

"Excuse me Miss; aren't you in Jimmy Neutron's suite?"

"Yes, I am," she responded.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Are you two," she paused.

"Together? Yes, we are," Cindy said with a broad smile. Together, the word felt simply wondrous to say.

The woman's face lit up like she had just heard the best gossip EVER. And in fact, she had. Jimmy Neutron had a lady friend… a very close lady friend.

"Is he here?" She inquired.

"No, he went out."

"Oh, well then, enjoy your breakfast Miss."

"Please, call me Cindy." Anna nodded in agreement.

"Cindy."

Then Cindy closed the door. There would be a siege of news reporters, rumors, and all sorts of lovely gossip that they would have to deal with. She hadn't even thought of that last night. She giggled and opened the tray.

She couldn't help but wonder how they would fight off all the press. This time though she wasn't afraid to reap the consequences of her actions.

_Watch channel five._

_Love, Jimmy_

Cindy turned on the TV to see Anne sitting at her desk.

"Good morning, and happy Saturday to you all, today we talk once more with Jimmy Neutron."

Jimmy appeared with a huge heart melting smile on his beautiful face. "Good morning Anne."

Anne flashed her smile back at him.

"So, we hear that Cindy Vortex came back to your hotel last night."

Jimmy smirked. This woman had ears and eyes literally everywhere.

"Perhaps she did."

Cindy couldn't help but smile broadly. Anne seemed shocked.

"You two... are…"

"Together?"

Anne nodded.

"Of course," he said with a smile. "But doesn't this make you unavailable?"

"Like I care?"

Cindy snickered as Anne bit her lower lip in either confusion or pure shock.

"So does this mean that you will be staying in New York City longer?"

He seemed to look straight at her.

"As long as she is here, here I will remain."

Cindy smiled broadly. Anne composed herself searching for more questions to ask her guest.

"So, may I just ask why did you pick Cindy? Was there something special about her?"

"Well, to tell the truth, Cindy and I have known each other since we were very small, she was the first woman I ever really fell in love with, and the last."

Anne threw him a confused look.

"I always was in love with her, from that very first day I moved to Retroville. I came here to find her and tell her what a terrible mistake I made breaking up with her, and today I wanted to tell the world."

"It was her you came to find?"

"That's correct."

"Congratulations to you both."

He smiled and nodded.

"Thank you."

With that, her problems seemed to disappear.

She stared at the screen. Jimmy had just confessed his love for her in front of thousands, no millions of people! Without a flinch nevertheless! He was so classy, so handsome and one hundred percent HERS. Just then her phone started to ring, Libby.

"Girl, you have some serious explaining to do."

"Let's just say, I came to my senses, and.. we uh.."

"Oh my god, it's about time! There was enough sexual tension between you two that if it was food, you could feed all the starving third world countries!" She squealed happily.

Cindy blushed.

"But Libs, there's one thing I want to know, he said on TV that he came here looking for me…"

"Yeah, about that, I might have told him where you worked, where you lived, who your boyfriend was, but Cindy you have to know I just wanted the best for you!"

Cindy snickered, not at all surprised.

"Oh Libby, you are such a little twerp!"

"He was so desperate to find you Cind! He called me about a week before he made the public service announcement, he told me that he was desperately in love with you and would do anything to find you. Just between me and you Cinds, I think he was drunk. And so I told him what I knew and I thought he would just forget about it but he didn't.

"So all this time you knew?"

"I did, is that bad of me?"

"No."

"And I knew you would realize you were still in love with him."

She giggled.

"Yeah, I guess ever since I saw those dorky blue eyes I was a goner."

Suddenly she heard his laugh.

"What are you doing?" He inquired.

She blushed.

"I'm just talking on the phone with Libby," she answered.

"Oh! Girl! Is that him? Oo, girl.. You go have some fun; he deserves a reward for all he's been through."

Her blush turned crimson.

"Bye Cindy," she said.

"Bye Libby," she responded and hung up.

"What did Libby want?" He asked while he hung up his coat.

"She just called to tell me something," she said as she walked to where he was. He looked at her questioningly. "She told me that a man called her about finding me, asking all sorts of questions about me."

He blushed.

"Yeah, I did, are you mad at me for not telling me?"

She walked towards him and flirtatiously ran her finger down the front of his shirt.

"I think it's the most adorable thing anyone has ever done, you know, you could've just called."

"I needed to see you myself, I needed to…"

She nodded.

"You did such a good job today," she changed the topic without effort and he just smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

She moved closer to him.

"So do you have anything else to do this morning?" His warm breath touched her face softly.

"No, I don't," he responded with a wink.

"Good," she kissed his cheek softly and whispered "Then your mine." She pushed him up against the nearby wall as her hands found the first button on his shirt, her lips hanging just above his.

"You evil temptress," he whispered with a teasing smile as his hands found their way to the bottom of her night shirt. She kissed his ear softly.

Just then there was a loud knock at the door.

She pulled away greatly disappointed. Jimmy suddenly and begrudgingly walked to the door as he muttered something under his breath something or other about terrible timing. Cindy snickered as she slipped into the bathroom.

"Alex, what are you doing here?"

Cindy opened the bathroom door and walked out.

"You, you came here?" She noted that he had tears in his eyes. "You have chosen then?"

Jimmy and Alex both stared at her intently.

"Yes Alex, I did."

He hung his head but she saw in Jimmy's eyes there was a sudden spark of light.

"I watched that stupid Anne this morning. You came all the way here to just ruin my relationship huh?"

"No! My original intention was to find her, to apologize to her."

"But you ruined us!"

"NO! He didn't do anything Alex!" Cindy butted in.

He glared at her.

"YES! He did! He came back into your life knowing you wouldn't be able to resist him! He knew you loved him!"

Jimmy squared his shoulders.

"No, I did not."

Alex punched Jimmy right in the groin. Jimmy hunched over in pain and with a squint then retaliated by kicking Alex in the knee he howled.

"Stop you guys!"

But they were not listening, they were now in a full out fight. Punches flying, before Cindy could even say any more Jimmy had a bloody nose and Alex had a bloody lip.

"Alex! Jimmy!" She finally cried. She then had an idea, and ran in between them.

"Hello? I said STOP!"

Finally they stopped and stared at her.

"Alex, I'm sorry, but I am in love with Jimmy."

Alex hung his head. "I know you are," he responded. "I just wanted to give him a good black eye for it, and I think I succeeded." Jimmy rubbed his eye which was indeed black. "Take care of her, and enjoy your life together," he said bitterly and without another word Alex disappeared.

Jimmy looked at her with a smirk.

"You just keep giving surprise after surprise don't you?"

She smiled and kissed him softly and pulled away and smiled.

"Come on; let's go get you cleaned up," she said as she led him back into the room.

"Cindy, you don't have any more boyfriends who will come to beat me up, do you?"

"Not that I know of," she responded with a tease. "And besides, you are the sexiest of them all," he smiled with a slight blush. She bandaged his wounds and iced his black eye.

She walked over to the window.

He groaned.

"You better be worth all this trouble Vortex," he said with a tease. She turned around and faced him and stuck out her tongue.

"You are such a tease."

He smiled as he placed down his icepack and walked towards her. Soon he had taken her in his arms. He softly touched her face with his palm and kissed her ear.

"I love you Cindy," he whispered.

"I love you," she responded and kissed his nose gently.

"Took us long enough didn't it?" He asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes, it did."

For a moment they just stood there locked in their embrace. And Cindy couldn't help but think this was worth all the consequences in the world!

He kissed her ear softly as he pulled her away from the window.

"Then we really should make up for lost time," he whispered playfully as he kissed her neck and collarbone, his fingers playing temptingly near the bottom of her shirt. Without another word he kissed her deeply as he lowered her onto a nearby couch.

-x-

There it is, the END! Hope you enjoyed it! I love you all!


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